Just an act
by Kutsu
Summary: Posing for gay magazines when you're straight, no way, right? Wrong. For Naruto, chaos arrupts until he finds a way to deal with stress; act. Shut yourself away, nothing you're doing is for real. Right? Sasunaru, yaoi, rated M for later chapters.
1. Prologue

**Okay, this is a multichapter fic. Everything's written down on paper, I just have to type it... The second chapter should be coming out in a week though. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: To own, or not to own, that is the question. Should I lie and tell you what I wish, or should I truthfully tell you the painful truth? ...Naruto's not miiiiiiine. Figures.**

**Warning: Lazily put, this fic contains (or will, don't worry) yaoi. If you don't know what that is, ask wikipedia. If you're too lazy to do so, I'll give you the short definition. Male-male relationship, don't like don't read. I'm tiiiired.  
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A sharp honking noise startled me into awakeness on Monday morning. Panicked, I shot out of bed, scooping up my clothes and schoolbag as I rushed to the bathroom. I knew I wouldn't have time for a shower, and brushed my teeth as fast as I could manage, while my free hand occupied itself by awkwardly dressing me up. And before you start laughing, you try pulling your clothes on with your left hand. When you're right handed.

I then thundered down the staircase, praying my parents had already left for work; Mom was an awful grouch in the morning, and making this much noise this early in the day with her in the house could be downright suicidal. Thankfully, I heard neither her or my dad yell at me.

"Damn that-" My sentence was cut off as I nearly collided with the dark mass that was standing in the entrance. "Teme!" I growled, catching myself just in time. "Why did you honk me if you wanted to come in?"

"If you keep skipping breakfast you'll pass out sooner or later, and I'll be the designated person to take you to the infirmary, dobe." The low, cold voice matched the unheated eyes into which I was presently glaring.

"I only did that once, teme, I'm not some weak anorexic girl!"

He rolled his eyes, and I noticed the infinitely faint twitching of his lips. I grinned back, muffling a yawn as I asked, "How much time do I have?"

He checked his watch. "Fifteen minutes for breakfast, fifteen to shower."

My jaw closed abruptly. "Sasuke, what time is it?"

"If you set your alarm, it should be going off in a couple of minutes."

I punched him. "You got me out of bed before seven!" I roared at him, becoming even angrier when he dodged. "What the hell is your problem? On Monday too!"

The teme didn't answer, mostly because he knew I'd give up fast enough. Exhaustion washed over me like a wave, and I growled tiredly, edging towards the kitchen. Grumbling about the indecency of the hour, I quickly poured cereal and milk into a bowl, and began eating unenthusiastically. Meanwhile, the teme prepared himself an expresso, looking inside the fridge while the water heated. A few seconds later, he placed a glass filled with orange juice next to my bowl.

"Drink,"he ordered in a cutting tone. You'd never think he was concerned. More like annoyed I hadn't thought of it myself.

I gave him a poor excuse for a glare, and obeyed wordlessly. After all, we both knew orange juice worked ten times better on me than coffee did on the teme. It was my personal fuel.

Three additional glasses and one shower later, I had stopped looking like a runaway zombie, and decided to forgive the bastard. For once, we weren't in a hurry. We settled inside his black mustang, and made our way towards Konoha High. The trip took us twenty minutes, fifteen if I drove. Although that rarely happened.

Sasuke's phone rang as we got out of the neighborhood. I glanced at the screen. "It's your brother," I informed him.

He nodded. "Put him on."

I obliged, and instantly heard Uchiha Itachi's voice coming out from the car's speakers. "_Good morning, little brother_." The tone was much more mischievous, but without this minor detail, there was no difference between this and the teme's voice. Sasuke sighed.

"I'm driving," he told his brother. "What is it?"

"_I've hooked up on some pretty big contract,_" was the reply. "_We're going to have to discuss several details, so call me back as soon as you can_."

"I will."

There was a click, and I sighed. "I was beginning to worry," I told the teme with a grin. He arched a questioning eyebrow, refusing to take his eyes off the road. "You haven't gone to a studio in weeks. I was beginning to think you had bored them or something."

He snorted. "Actually, Itachi was submerged with demands, once everyone heard he had canceled all of my contracts."

"I get the point," I grumbled. "I suppose you'll be leaving for a whole month again, settle in Paris and hang out with the most beautiful models you'll find..." I continued my ranting, ignoring the growing smirk that was forming on the teme's mouth. Not only was Uchiha Sasuke rich, smart, good-looking (from what the girls told me) and athletic, but he also had to be one of the most sought for models of his generation. With his brother's help, he had signed contracts with international companies, filthy rich amateur artists, and In doing so he had nearly doubled the fortune his parents had left him, and obtained an unwanted but yearlong admiration from any girl in school.

Said admiration manifested itself in the form of the group of fangirls standing in the space the teme always used to park, prohibiting any other driver from putting his car there. They cleared the area as soon as they saw the mustang, some of them nearly squealing in delight. Once the car had stopped, I walked out silently, patiently waiting for the usual greetings to the teme to finish. But I didn't expect Sakura and Ino to grab me by the collar and drag me away from the group.

"Leggo of me!" I protested, cringing when the blonde gave me a dark glare.

"We need your help," Sakura told me. "You have to convince Sasuke to come to the party we're throwing next month."

"Woah, why are you asking me this?" I asked, observing the two of them. Sweet Sakura was clutching my wrist tightly, the way she always did when she wanted something.

"You're his friend. You'll convince him better than we will."

"Why would he say no?" Oh yeah, because he's an ass. "Forget I asked," I added. "What's the occasion?"

"We've decided to celebrate our birthday together," Ino stated as if I were a very slow child. "And we'd like Sasuke to come."

"You're invited too of course," Sakura added. "We wouldn't want to miss you."

"Of course you wouldn't," I said with a wide grin. "No one can party if I'm not here to make things alive! Don't worry, if I have to drag the teme all the way to your place, tied up and gagged, it'll only be my pleasure."

"Take out the 'tied up and gagged'," Ino warned me. "I won't allow Sasuke to be harmed on my birthday. Especially not by you."

"Don't worry Ino," Sakura assured her. "He's joking. No need to be so stuck-up."

Ino narrows her eyes. Ice. "_What _did you call me?"

"Stuck-up. Prissy. Want me to develop, Ino-pig?"

"Pity your vocabulary isn't as large as your forehead, flower girl," Ino shot back.

"Who're you calling a flower girl, Yamanaka?"

I slowly crept away from the two girls, only sighing once I was completely out of range. Sasuke was standing a few feet away from his ca r, and the religious silence entertained by his fanclub was only due to the fact that he was on the phone. Looking none too pleased.

Seeing I was done with the girls, he stopped his sibling from continuing whatever he was saying. "I'll call you at lunch," he grumbled, before closing his cellphone and shutting it off.

"What's up?" I queried as we began heading towards the buildings.

"Do me a favor and don't ask," he growled back, shoving the phone into his backpack. I frowned. Sasuke rarely told me anything about himself willingly. Everything I knew about him I had learned from various sources, or thanks to my own wanderings and never tiring sense of adventure. Even someone like the teme couldn't hold me away for too long, but each bit of information had been obtained after long hours of struggle.

So I knew he'd never tell me what was wrong now. But his edginess was unusual. Or did he look uneasy? It was hard to tell, since his face rarely displayed anything but a stern, sometimes scornful, and otherwise emotionless mask which he never removed completely. But something had made him lose some of his control. Not much though. I mean, seriously, none of the fangirls had noticed the teme looked any different from his usual bastard self, and I doubted anyone else would. But my Sasuke-temper radar was presently humming at a low but steady rhythm. And he was less careful to hide his emotions with me, though it had taken him years to learn how to simply smirk. He hadn't been smiling back in the days. Not at all. Not after his parents had been murdered right before his eyes.

* * *

I stayed with Kiba and Shikamaru throughout most of the morning. Despite what most people thought (and continued to think), me and the teme weren't that close friends. I only used him as a ride. We didn't see each other during the day, except for sports. So I conceded in saying he was my driver and rival. He lived to make fun of me, while my personal goal was to prove to the rest of the world he wasn't the best guy in school. And it wasn't a complete disaster, either.

Sasuke usually hung out with the smart guys in school -save Shika, but he was too lazy to speak with the teme- like Neji or Gaara, while I stayed with people who didn't treat me as though I were a complete idiot. But today, I kept an eye on the teme, only to find him even quieter (if that was possible) than usual. Something fishy was up, I deduced. And with the teme, there was only one way to dig up answers.

Lunch came. I barely saw Sasuke slip out of the cafeteria, leaving his platter untouched. Ignoring my protesting belly, I left my food to Kiba's care -no doubt I'd never see it again- and followed the teme outside. Thankfully, there were enough people so that he wouldn't notice me, and once he got to the parking lot I crouched, guessing that one, he wanted to stay as far away from humans as possible, and two, I certainly was one person he did _not_ want overhearing.

I hid behind a large pickup, thanking whoever ruled up there for making the teme stop on the other side of the vehicle.

"Itachi."

Careful not to make any noise, I crept around the truck, towards the side was closest to, listening.

"Can't they change the contract? I don't care if they're low on models in that section; I didn't sign up for-" He paused, and I waited, careful not to come into his view. I could see his feet, and saw that he was two feet away from the corner of the truck. He'd see me as soon as I'd get to my feet. Unless...

"I won't do it,"the younger Uchiha spat. "I don't care how great the occasion is, I'm not" -he turned away from my direction angrily and I leaped up and forward. One step- "posing for-" He heard me, and turned. Too late. I yanked the cell phone out of his stunned hand and darted off.

"Itachi, you've got one minute to give me all the crunchy details before he catches up with me," I told the older Uchiha as I raced down the parking lot.

"_One minute? You're optimistic,_"came the amused reply. God they had the same voice. It was too weird.

"I have a head start. Hurry up," I pleaded, looking behind me. Man, I was in so much trouble once he caught up with me.

"_Sasuke's contract with Chidori Inc. includes the condition that he'll have to pose for gay magazines,_" Itachi informed me with an indifference that didn't suit the subject at all. I remembered freezing in my tracks was not a good idea when you had an Uchiha going on a killing rampage right behind you, and zoomed past several groups of students enjoying the noon sun. Some cheered at me; I was on the track team, after all. So was Sasuke, but it was immoral to cheer someone with murdering intents on campus. Although the teme was faster, he couldn't match my endurance. I could run full speed for a full hour on just about any terrain. He liked smooth, straight lines.

So of course I hurried off to the nearest staircase, all the while listening to Itachi's explanations. "_I told him I had already signed. The occasion was too good to miss; and if he gets past his embarrassment, he'll make millions. It isn't porn, in any case. Just extensive hugging, I was told._"

I gave him a strangled laugh as I stopped my ascension on the third floor. My legs were dangerously hot, and endurance meant nothing if he caught up. Luckily the teme hated steps twice as much as I did, though it did considerably increase his desire to tear me to pieces. I raced down the hall, nearly stopping as my History teacher, Iruka, suddenly appeared in front of me.

"Naruto, no running in the halls!" he roared.

I flinched, but ignored the order, pointing at the natural disaster that was chasing me.

"_You're holding out pretty well,_" Itachi remarked.

"The teme hates stairs," I explained, slightly breathless. Turning right abruptly, I dived into a second staircase, skipping most steps as I went down. I could see Sasuke now, and knew I wouldn't last much longer. Still I grinned back at his furious glare, indicating him I had gathered what I wanted.

"_By the way,_" Itachi said thoughtfully as I sped out of the building. "_Sasuke will need a partner to pose with. I advised you._"

This time my legs stopped listening to their survival instincts.

"WHAT?"

A split-second later, Sasuke slammed into me full force, bringing us both to the ground and retrieving his cellphone before I got back to my senses. "I'll kill you when I get home," he told his brother. "Is there a particular reason as to why the idiot just blew my eardrums apart?"

For a moment I could only hear our heavier-than-normal breathing. I looked away, not keen on seeing Sasuke's reaction to that particular bit of information. But as the silence persisted, I turned towards him again. I hadn't expected the teme to be smirking.

"You signed for him too, I suppose," he said, imitating his brother's tone perfectly. Although I didn't hear Itachi's answer, the spreading of the smirk on the teme's face was a good indication.

"I'll do it," Sasuke finally announced, to my -and probably Itachi's- utter astonishment. "When am I scheduled?"

I sprang to my feet. "I am not!" I shouted. "There is no way I'm posing for porn magazines-" I snarled as the bastard snapped his cellphone shut and tucked it back into his pocket, completely ignoring my antics.

"It isn't porn," he informed me dryly. "Itachi would never allow it. And neither of us are eighteen yet."

"So what do they want to shoot?" I asked sarcastically. "Kissing guys?" I knew I was beet red. Sasuke's cheeks were slightly colored as well, though most people wouldn't notice the minuscule increase of blood beneath his pale flesh.

"They won't force us to do anything," he told me quietly. "Itachi said he told them we were both...straight."

"And that doesn't bother them?"

"We won't be the first. Some straight models prefer to pose for gay magazines, to keep their sexual life away from public view even if they do porn."

"But they wouldn't pose with their girlfriends anyways, right?"

"Yes, but if they're posing with boys, said girlfriends can hardly become jealous."

"Oh. Right." That made sense. I paused, thoughtful. "Why did you agree?" My mouth could never remain still for too long.

He didn't answer immediately. Then the unholy smirk made its way back on his face. "Sometimes I need to pay a certain price to see you this red. But I assure you it's worth it."

"Bastard!" I cried, outraged. "This whole thing was a setup, admit it!"

He rolled his eyes. "As if I could convince Chidori to shoot us both for a specific group of magazines just to annoy you. Sadly I don't have this much power."

I grumbled, and headed back to the cafeteria. When I heard his footsteps behind me, a thought occurred to my mind. "I'll get paid, right?"

He chuckled. "Don't worry," he assured me. "By the end of this, you'll be able to buy yourself a car for each month of the year."

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**To be continued...Just so you know, reviews _will_ make me update faster. They're really appreciated.**


	2. If only things were simple

**DON'T KILL ME!!!! Please, I swear it's not my fault I'm late on the update. My internet connection's wrecked at home and I had to use the wi-fi on campus. Seriously. Oh, and try not to murder me either for whatever's going to happen in this chapter. The ending's still good.**

**Disclaimer: Sasuke just killed Karin in canon. Kishimoto's turning him into a complete ass, and right now I'm happy I'm not the author of the manga. So no, no, no. I do not own Naruto.**

**Enjoy, sorry again for updating so late...**

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**If only things simple**

I waited nervously on my doorstep, aware that the teme wouldn't miss the opportunity to comment on the fact that I was up and ready to go a 7: 10 a. m. I had showered twice, before and after breakfast, and had carefully chosen my clothing, for what seemed like the first time in my life. My lucky orange T-shirt wrapped my chest just right, and helped me relax. Orange always felt good.

The black mustang finally came into view, and I sighed, looking back at my house. This was the last time I'd see it before long; somehow I didn't like the idea things might change while I was away. I went to the car, and climbed in under Sasuke's quiet gaze. He didn't look so enthusiastic either.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked, throwing my bag in the rear and shutting the door.

"I've learned to trust my brother's judgment," he replied tightly. "For this at least. He thinks it's a good experience."

"You don't sound like you're ready to blindly follow his orders," I remarked as he drove out.

"No." His answer surprised me. "I know Itachi has intuition, and that I would've done something like this sooner or later, but that doesn't mean I'm going down without a fight."

I frowned. "Meaning..."

"Whoever's in charge of us will have to prove himself before we start anything." His eyes burned dangerously, and I gulped. This could just slip from Hell to worse if the teme decided to add his personal spice to the mix.

"What did you pack?"

Confused, I looked up. "Huh?"

"I told you not to pack anything." His thumb rose away from the steering wheel to point at the back of the car.

"You can't expect me to believe they'll provide us with everything," I argued. The teme sighed, clear indication to how much of an idiot he though I was. "I didn't take _clothes_," I told him, rolling my eyes. "Not even to sleep, since you said not to bring any about fifty times last week. Just my toothbrush, ipod and some ramen."

Sasuke drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in a too-patient manner. "I told you they'd bring you some if you asked." See? The voice was off too. I was in trouble.

"What if I'm hungry before they bring it?"

"Then I'll hire someone to teach you how to gain control over your stomach." Something wasn't right. Usually the teme had no trouble hiding how annoyed he was, and at the moment I could actually tell he was on the very limit of stopping the car and punching me in the face just to get some steam out.

"Are you alright?" I asked. He must have sensed that I was truly concerned, and didn't answer. "I mean, if there's a problem you're afraid to talk about, you should just spit it out," I blurted. Great. I had just switched to pointless talk mode. As if the teme would ever tell me anything. "Like if you're really gay, or you're afraid you'll get raped, or if you have an embarrassing tattoo you don't want people to know about-"

"Said people would already have noticed," Sasuke replied dryly. Nevertheless, he had smirked at my random accusations. Inwardly, I sighed with relief once I saw he had returned to his usual prick self. "Keep doing that," he ordered.

"Doing what?"

"Distracting me."

I felt my eyes widen, and quickly decided to follow his advice. "You're really stressed, aren't you?" I asked in a teasing voice. "Is it because you know what they'll do to us or that you don't?" Without waiting for him to answer, I continued, "I dunno, maybe they're going to make us wear weird costumes; I bet our agent will be some kind of crazy fangirl of yours and will force you to put on female clothing -if they make you wear a maid's outfit I'm taking pictures- or stuff...Or maybe a perverted old man with pedophile tendencies-"

"In that case you should start worrying," he remarked with another smirk.

"Hey!" I pouted, grumbling about ungrateful temes who couldn't see how mature their friends really were. Sasuke kept his smirk the entire time, right until the studios came into view. There, both his amusement and my confidence evaporated in an instant. Lips pressed tightly against one another, Sasuke parked the car and led me to the entrance. A woman greeted us as we passed the sliding doors.

"Mr. Uchiha?" she asked with a polite smile. Wordlessly, Sasuke nodded. "And Mr Uzumaki, correct? Mr Uchiha's brother called this morning to warn us you might come to accompany him. Now that you're both here, things are settled."

_This morning?_, my mind repeated, outraged. _That bloody-_

A hand on my shoulder kept me from releasing the wrath the elder Uchiha would be subject to as soon as soon as I got my hands on him, and Sasuke thanked the woman. "Are we expected?"

She nodded. "I'll take you to Mr Hatake's office. If you'll follow me..."

Said office was big. Too big for my taste; I sat down nervously on one of the two luxurious chairs facing the desk, behind which sat a man whose sense of fashion needed explaining. His face was almost completely covered; the nose and mouth by the tight, sleeveless turtleneck he wore beneath a equally sleeveless jacket of the same dark shade, and his left eye by a black cloth tied diagonally across his head. His hair was silver, yet he seemed no older than thirty.

I turned toward Sasuke, to see how the teme would react and stared when I saw he was standing defiantly next to his own chair, glaring at our new manager. Remembering what he had said in the car, I sighed, turning back to the weird guy.

He didn't seem intimidated by the Uchiha glare, one-eying him from head to toes in wordless contemplation. Sasuke remained perfectly still as the older man checked him over. His glare's intensity had lessened, and I saw his taunting look gradually switch to respect as the guy got to his feet.

"Turn around?"

To my disbelieving eyes, Sasuke obeyed without a word, allowing the man to inspect every inch of his body. Finally satisfied, he beckoned for the teme to sit. "Your brother wasn't lying," he stated with what I assumed was a smile. Of course, with his hidden mouth is was hard to tell. "And you" -he turned towards me- "must be Naruto."

I nodded, still nervous.

"I believe I got more than what I asked for," he said with another invisible smile. Slowly his gaze swept over my features, apparently satisfied. "You exercise often?" he then asked.

"I'm on the track team," I replied, gulping. "Best long-distance runner. And the teme keeps me in shape." I jerked my head in Sasuke's direction, forcing myself to hold his gaze. Man, even with one eye he was intimidating.

"What do you mean?"

I flushed, realizing my words could have been taken in a very different way than I had meant them. "He's on the track team too," I blurted quickly. "We're rivals, so we run a lot, outside training."

"I see." He paused, then seemed to remember something. "I haven't introduced myself," he stated, sounding surprised.

"You haven't," Sasuke confirmed dryly.

"My sincere apologies. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I'll be taking care of most of your work here. I wanted to meet you before we started, however. Your real work begins tomorrow.:

My eyes lit. "You mean we won't be in front of the cameras today?"

Kakashi nodded, and I wooped. To this, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You'll have to excuse him," he told our new manager.

"No need, no need. I'd rather see him relaxed. That way he'll be able to speak freely."

"About what?" Slowly I felt my unease inch back to my mind.

"Nothing too serious," I was assured. "Your social habits, preferences and such. I need to get an idea of what you like and don't like, the way you behave in given situations and such."

I frowned at him. "You're not a shrink, are you?"

This time he laughed. "No, but I find it better to know about a model's way of thinking before I put him in front of the camera. That way I can choose the setting that suits them." Since I was still frowning, he sighed and added, "Try to imagine your friend here in a kid's birthday party. Flashy balloons everywhere, cakes and presents, and toddlers running under his feet. He'd hardly fit in the picture, don't you think?"

The image was so clear in my mind that I burst out laughing, only calming down after the teme shot me a warning glare. "I get it."

"You'd be hugging the whole lot of them, from what I can see," Kakashi continued. "Moreover, your physical aspect is much more adapted to the scene." He waved a lazy hand towards my hair and eyes, and I nodded.

We talked for what seemed like hours. I soon relaxed, and Sasuke let me do most of the mouth work. The lazy teme even made me fill in his side of the story, and barely opened his mouth.

It was only when our manager's secretary came in with lunch that I realized how loud my belly was. "God bless cooks on Earth!" I cried merrily, grabbing my platter with a huge grin as it was handed to me. My reaction was welcomed with one smile, one eye roll, and one chuckle. I'll let you guess who did which. I emptied my plate in less than five minutes, noticing Kakashi ignore his food in favor of speaking a little.

"Since your mouths are busy, I'll take care of the talking, for now." He paused, then continued. "I thought you might want to know how you're going to work. This is the first time for both of you? In gay magazines, I mean."

We both nodded.

"See, I'll never force you to do anything you're uncomfortable with. Since you're both beginners, I understand you'll find most of what I'll propose 'uncomfortable', but that shouldn't bother us for too long. What I need is a bottom limit." He turned towards Sasuke. "Your brother already gave me his opinion on the matter. He agrees to everything as long as we -as in, even the casting crew- don't get to see what's hidden between your legs. For both of you. That means you won't be posing naked at all, even if we want to shoot your back. Does that seem reasonable?"

Slowly the teme nodded, and they both looked at me. I hesitated.

"You'll both be able to refuse any removal of clothing," Kakashi assured. "I'll never force you to do anything you don't want to -God knows I don't want to feel Itachi Uchiha's wrath upon my company- although I might insist if I think you're refusing from shyness and not because you're feeling I'm going too far. But I want to know what limit I mustn't cross under any circumstances."

I nodded. "Like the teme, then, I guess."

"Good. He clapped his hands. "Here are your schedules." He handed them, adding to Sasuke, "Since we're also doing some of the contracts your brother had been holding off until now, you'll be working in the morning as well. I'd advise you to come as well, Naruto, to get an idea of how we work. I'll explain it more properly afterward, but it's always good to know what to expect." I nodded again, obediently this time, wondering if Sasuke would mind. I knew how much he disliked the attention.

"We reserved rooms in the hotel facing the studio. All the models will reside there during the month. Rin will show you around" -he indicated his secretary- "and I'm giving you the afternoon to get acquainted with the place."

* * *

Ten minutes later, we sat down on Sasuke's bed; our rooms had a connecting door, which I had not failed to use. I was sprawled halfway onto his pillows, while my legs rested on the teme, with the sole purpose of annoying him.

"Well, it could have been worse," I sighed after a relatively stretched silence.

"Your optimism amazes me," the teme replied dryly. "Stay in utopia; you coming down to Earth tomorrow will be so much more amusing."

"Aw, come on, teme, that Kakashi guy's a little strange, sure, but he's not that evil."

"If he really wasn't, he wouldn't be the head of Chidori Inc. You need more than talent to get up there."

"You're such a sourpuss," I informed him with a sigh. He ignored me, and I poked him with my foot. Getting no reaction, I poked harder. When the teme persisted in his refusal to acknowledge me, I slammed my foot into his ribs. He grunted and caught my ankle, pulling me as he rolled to the far side of the bed. Yelping, I tried to tug my foot out of his grasp, but failed, and twisted to leap onto his back.

He blocked me with my own leg, but I had enough momentum to bring us both to the floor. With an angry snarl, Sasuke slammed me down, making sure I couldn't move, and glared. "What is wrong with you?"

I met his eyes squarely. "Nothing. _You_ need to blow off some steam. You've been keeping it in ever since we left this morning." Groaning, I pushed him back brutally, trying to pin him to the floor. A snake would've been easier. He twisted out of my grip and kicked me, with enough force to keep me from avoiding the second blow.

He hit my sternum. I doubled over, crying out silently as air burst out of my lungs. Sasuke got to his feet and walked away without a word, leaving me to catch my breath. Still wheezing, I edged towards the connecting door, crossing the threshold on all fours and locking my side of the passage.

It took me several minutes before I started breathing normally again, and eventually I glanced at my surroundings. This was a mirrored version of Sasuke's room; only the paintings differed. Curious, I went to the closest piece of furniture I could find -a closet- and opened it.

It wasn't empty. I figured Chidori Inc. owned the hotel, since they could put whatever they wanted in the furniture pieces. Suits of various shades met my eyes, along with several pairs of leather shoes, which had been placed at the bottom of the closet. The fabric was softer than anything I had ever worn, and looked nothing short of perfect. Even I could look good in those. Drawers contained more casual clothes. Their contents were carefully labeled, and indicated the season in which their contents should be worn.

Grinning despite myself, I went through every drawer I could find, and could only marvel at what welcomed my eyes. I suspected Itachi to have somehow communicated my measurements to our manager, since everything was my size. Most of the clothes were light -there was very little gray, black of dark blue- suiting my personal taste.

The main door to my room opened before I could muster the courage to take something out and try it on, and Sasuke entered. He stared at me for several seconds, and I noticed he had put on a jogging attire. "There's a track behind the studio," he informed me. "Get dressed."

I could tell he didn't want to talk about what had just happened. I nodded, and went back through the drawers in order to find something I could run with. Wordlessly Sasuke walked over, opened one and pulled out some clothes, which he tossed me.

"Thanks," I mumbled, and changed hastily as he took out some shoes. Once I was fully dressed, he led me to the track.

We walked towards the starting line without a word, immediately moving into position. I was breathing normally again, and hoped the teme hadn't done any serious damage to my lungs. Glancing at him, I noticed that his face was as serious as ever; he clearly intended to win this, as he always did, and would give it everything he had.

"How many laps?" I asked.

"Two."

I mentally scolded myself. Of course he'd want a challenge. One was too short; I'd never manage to catch up. Three laps were too much for the teme if he ran his hardest. Two was perfect; I'd have to be faster that usual, and he'd need to spare his energy. Grinning, I waited for Sasuke's signal.

"Go."

No _Ready, set_ for us. Go figure. I sprang to my feet and lurched forward, just as the teme zoomed past me. We both knew he needed to create as much distance as he could before my adrenaline kicked in. I was a slow starter, which was why I liked long distances. Yet here, I knew that Sasuke wouldn't wait.

By the end of his first turn, I was only a quarter-lap behind. And just as he passed the starting line, I felt adrenaline start pumping through my veins.

"Incoming, Uchiha!" My grin widened as the bastard accelerated. I hadn't realized he'd been keeping some speed in. Despite this he was tiring, and I gradually caught up. By the time we'd done half of the second lap, we were shoulder to shoulder, running at equal speed. This was the final sprint.

I grinned madly, glancing at Sasuke. His eyes were focused on the track, alight with the thrill of the race. Noticing my face, his lips twitched up, and, with what seemed like his ultimate ounces of energy, sped up ahead of me. I threw my last reserves of fuel into my legs, and began laughing like a maniac. I couldn't help myself. My legs accelerated, and I caught up with the teme.

The finish line was within view. We were shoulder to shoulder once more, both pleading our legs to go faster. I could feel my lungs burn twice as much as my calves, and yet my laughter kept echoing around the track.

I closed my eyes as I crossed the line, and crashed to the ground. Sasuke stopped so abruptly that from the sound I half-thought he was going to fall as well. Instead, he turned around and crouched next to me.

"Flip over," he snapped, kneeling.

I barely heard him. My head spun dangerously, and I gasped for air, wondering why my lungs were pumping fire instead of oxygen. Water suddenly poured over my face, and Sasuke helped me sit up as I sputtered. Thank God he'd thought to bring a bottle. The top was unceremoniously shoved into my mouth, and I drank greedily, lessening the overwhelming heat that filled my throat.

Looking up, I saw that the teme was glaring at me. I forced another grin upon my face. "Who won?" My voice cracked.

"Who cares?" he snapped angrily. "Stay down."

I ignored him, and got to my feet. "I'm fine," was my tired sigh. " I just though running as fast as you usually do wouldn't be a problem on a short distance."

He snorted, taking a gulp from the bottle. Done, he rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot," he informed me as we headed back towards the studio.

"I am not." Turning to glare, I noticed he was frowning at something that wasn't me. Puzzled, I turned back around, and spotted a guy whose paleness nearly rivaled the teme's. His hair was equally black, although not spiked, and his eyes were the same pitch dark pools I often glared into. And it wasn't Itachi. Weird.

Weirder even, the traditional Uchiha glare was replaced by a cheerful smile as he came over to greet us. "You're the new models, right? My name's Sai." Oh, and he even had the two same first letter in his name. I mentally smirked.

"I'm Naruto," I replied, extending my hand and grinning back. He ignored it in favor of the teme. "And you're the famed Uchiha. It's quite an honor to work with you." The two of them shook hands. The sight was utterly bizarre. Like Sasuke had found his positive mirror image. Unreal.

The two Sasukes -what was I saying, Sasuke and Sai- noticed my slight stupor. Sai was the first to react. "Don't think I've forgotten you, Kit. But I believe ignoring that raven friend of yours might have been rude."

I frowned. So maybe he wasn't entirely positive and non-evil. "What about ignoring me?" I asked. "And what's with the nickname?"

I froze as Sai's fingers gently caressed my face, tracing the whisker-like marks that adorned my cheeks. "You look like a fox," he told me softly. "It's pretty cute. Would you like us to pose together?"

"He's posing with me." My eyes snapped to the left, glancing at the teme, which for some reason looked pissed. "Get your hand off; you're slowing his brain down."

Sai obeyed with another bright smile. "I'm sorry. I hadn't realized you were together."

I flushed, and later realized the only reason Sasuke didn't reply was because he knew I'd supply for us both. "I'm not with him! He thinks I'm way too loud, and he's completely stuck-up!"

"I'm afraid I must agree with him," Sai sighed, wincing. "You are loud. But you looked really good out there" -he pointed at the track- "so in case you're interested, my room's number is 204." And before he left, that unholy bastard did the one thing that triggered everything that followed. And what was it, you ask? He kissed me. In the crook of my neck, right in front of Sasuke, and in a way that left no possibility to misinterpret his intentions. When his lips left my skin, I remained still, unable to react.

"See you tonight," he stated with the same bright smile. Then he turned and disappeared inside the studio.

Before I could get my thoughts in order, Sasuke decided to help by emptying the remaining contents of the bottle on my head. "Quit daydreaming," he snapped. "Else I'm leaving you here."

I shook my head, sputtering. "Teme," I growled. "I get kissed by a guy and this is how you react?"

"Sorry," he replied dryly. "Perhaps 'congratulations' would have fitted better."

"Don't say that." Almost reflexively, I pressed my hand against the side of my neck, where Sai had kissed me. Sasuke glanced at me before letting out an angry sigh.

"Why didn't you just tell him you were straight?" he finally asked.

I blinked. "Huh?"

"When he said we were...together." I didn't know the teme could look uncomfortable. And yet he shifted, ever so slightly, as he spoke. "Instead of rambling about how much we couldn't stand each other, why didn't you tell him you didn't like guys?"

My face must have shown some type of guilt, because he rolled his eyes before I even spoke. "I forgot," I admitted sheepishly.

"Dobe, your sexual orientation isn't something you forget."

"I was confused!" He gave me a look that clearly stated 'like that wasn't obvious' in bright, blinking capital letters, but said nothing. "You brought me someplace new, with people I don't know and in a completely different lifestyle, where I only work two hours each day while the rest's taken up by picture-taking, and where you tell me I have to play gay!"

He glared at me. "I didn't tell you anything."

I ignored him, still gripping my neck. "Then your twin bastard shows up saying I'm hot, and I'm asking myself if this is some kind of setup or if I really have to consider what he's saying, and since I've never dealt with a flirting guy before-" I shut up as the teme covered my mouth with his hand.

"You need a shower," he told me. "After that your brain should be able to function properly. He grabbed the arm still hanging off my neck, and dragged my back to the hotel.

Leading me back to my room, he took me all the way to the bathroom, and shoved me inside, closing the door after I passed the threshold.

"Wash," he ordered through the wooden door.

Morosely I did as I was told. After a few minutes of letting the water flow over me like a transparent coat, I began scrubbing my body and hair, shutting off any thought in order to concentrate solely on the task at hand.

Fifteen minutes later, I stepped out of the bathroom, only to find the room empty. The little composure I had gathered beneath the water evaporated in an instant. "Sasuke?" I called, not caring that my panic clearly showed. That bastard had abandoned me in this foreign place, and the precise moment where I needed to find something familiar to get my thoughts in order. Bastard. Bastard. -

The connecting door opened, and the teme appeared, clad in a pair of jeans. His bare chest was still wet, and he rubbed a towel over his hair. "I'm right here, dobe."

Relief flooded me, and I didn't care if the teme saw. I saw down weakly, causing Sasuke to sigh and walk over. "Leave it to you to panic when you're alone," he scoffed.

"I don't know anyone here." I grumbled. "Except you."

"You know the manager," Sasuke said in an ironic tone. He paused. "You know _Sai_."

At the mention of the name, my left hand automatically snapped back to my neck, but Sasuke caught it.

"Stop doing that," he said, annoyed.

"It feels weird," I mumbled.

"Sai's a guy. You shouldn't bother about it."

"But he kissed me!"

That seemed to bring the teme to the point where he stopped thinking about consequences. Angrily he grabbed my shoulder, pushing my head away and leaning down. And kissed me.

* * *

**Hehehe...So by now I think you might be interested in the next chapter. Coming soon... No, review, and I'll update as soon as I finish dealing with one seriously annoying paragraph. Chapters four and five may be fused together (the former's really not fun to either read or write), so the grand total may be 9 chapters in all (prologue included). **

**Review please!  
**


	3. Things you might want to know

**What happens when you start bribing authors with virtual double chocolate cookies? They go to the supermarket after classes to buy real ones, and update on the following day. Yuzumi-chan has wicked techniques to make you cough up a chapter, I tell you. But she did review, so that has to be a sign that reviewing is a good thing...**

**Okay, back to the subject at hand. Angst starts in this chapter (a little), AND if there are some vocabulary misuses (I'm really not sure about what I'm putting down (for the picture-taking-related terms, mind you, the rest's fine), though I wrote what didn't make my eyes or ears bleed) please tell me, I'll fix it as soon as I get the message. Seriously, people, I haven't been to the United States in almost five years, and there are some words I don't remember. Help me.  
**

**Disclaimer:**** Like I said before, I'm really not happy with Kishimoto's current work. So no, I definitely don't want to own the true Naruto.**

**Enjoy, people!**

* * *

**Things you might want to know**

Why had I called Sai Sasuke's twin? Because there was one noticeable difference between the two of them; Sasuke's lips were much softer. More gentle, too. I remained still as they pressed against my throat, but this time it wasn't only from shock.

When the teme finally pulled back, I was slightly annoyed to see he wasn't flushing at all. I, on the other hand, was beet red.

"Just so you know," he spoke before I could open my mouth, "we'll be doing this often. Don't let it get to your head." With that he stepped away, and his words made their way to my brain.

"You mean...we're going to kiss each other?" I finally squeaked. He nodded. "On the mouth?"

This time, and to my relief, Sasuke shook his head. "Hatake's a pervert, but he's not that twisted." He turned around. "Get dressed," the teme ordered. "We still need to eat."

I stared at him. "But it's not even six!"

"I'm eating now," he replied with a shrug. "If you want to eat later, it's your business."

I groaned and got to my feet, hastily pulling some clothes on.

Thankfully, once we got down to the hotel's restaurant, the teme bought me three bowls of ramen, and let me have anything else I wanted, waiting patiently until I was finished. Puzzled, I figured my little panic attack must have worried him.

We returned upstairs wordlessly, and after biding the teme goodnight, I got ready for bed. Damn, all the boxers were made of silk! What was this place, anyways? Sighing, I grabbed a pair and put it on, sighing as the soft fabric brushed against my skin. Too bad I was afraid of ripping them. There was nothing else.

Just as I adjusted the waistband above my hips, the connecting door opened, and Sasuke entered, still fully dressed. For a few seconds, we stared at each other. Then my curiosity took over. "What?"

He shrugged. "Nothing."

"Why d'you barge in on me? I could have been naked." And almost had been.

"Lock the door, dobe."

"Shut up! You better not be here to tell me there's some stupid rule saying we have to sleep together or anything-"

"Idiot." His voice stayed perfectly dry as he rolled his eyes. There was another stretching of silence, which this time I decided not to break.

"So you're not going to Sai's tonight."

My eyes widened spectacularly. "So _that_'s what you were bothered about?" I laughed.

"He's expecting you."

"He can expect me all he wants," I shot back. "I'm a guy, teme. And even if I was gay I wouldn't date him."

Sasuke smirked. "I don't want to know why."

"Teme! If you came here just to annoy me, you can leave!"

Shrugging, he stepped back, pulling the door behind him. Silent, I glared at the knob. What a sourpuss. He hadn't even closed it completely. Sighing, I sat on my bed, and flipped the television on. The bastard had an obsessive compulsive disorder anyways. He'd close it eventually.

Three quarters of an hour later I shut the TV off, feeling cheated. There were no less than three hundred channels to pick from and none of them bothered to put something worth watching. Sighing, I tucked myself under the covers, and turned the lights off. Sasuke's room was already dark, and I suspected him to be asleep. After all, I could afford to sleep until noon. He couldn't.

* * *

The screaming started less than one hour after I had fallen asleep. And thank god the connecting door had been opened, else I never would've heard it.

Swearing, I jumped out of my bed, and rushed over to the other room. Sasuke was thrashing frantically when I reached him, and it took me several minutes to wake him up.

"Teme," I growled, "it's me. Wake up, dammit, no one else is here but me!" I turned one of the table lamps on, and the light seemed to work. Sasuke was even paler than usual, sweaty and shaking, but he was awake. Disgustedly he pushed the covers back and got out of bed, heading towards the bathroom.

When he returned, I had pulled one of the armchairs near the bed, as well as my own covers and pillows.

"What are you doing?" His voice betrayed his self-disgust, and he gave me a angry glare.

"Watching you."

"Dobe, I don' t need babysitting-"

I gave him a stern look. "You remember the last time I didn't wake you? You threw up the entire morning, and you barely ate for two days. I know one nightmare means they'll be plaguing you the entire night, teme."

"You need to sleep," he snapped.

"I'll catch up in the morning. You can't. So quit complaining and get back in bed." He looked as furious as always. Furious at his his weakness. Furious he needed me to watch over him. But I knew his nightmares were enough to make him shove his ego away. Watching you parents getting tortured and killed repeatedly is enough to make anybody sick.

Sasuke woke four additional times. Every time he shook with not only horror but also rage and self-loathing. Every time I'd force him back to bed, convincing him his emotions were pointlessly keeping him awake when he needed to sleep.

* * *

I woke in the teme's bed, and alone. Thankfully, Sasuke had remembered my tendency to panic, and had left a note telling where he was and how to get there.

I found him soon enough. The studio complex was huge; an add-up of decors of all kinds, or whatever you called the three-sided rooms filled with models of all sorts. The fourth side was of course filled with cameras whose flashes were painful to endure after a while. All the models here were males, posing alone or in groups, in either elaborate settings such as bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms and miniature libraries, or more simple, uniform backgrounds.

The whole place was like a hive; models shrugged in and out of clothes with a speed I envied -although they had help- , flashes came from every direction, and more generally, everyone, everything moved. On the other hand, the place was amazingly quiet. The place didn't echo, and it looked like some kind of sound barrier separated each of the groups.

I found Sasuke getting shot for men's perfume. I grinned as soon as I realized; that is, until I got a correct view of the teme. He stood in front of a dark blue background -not black, since it was the only color he wore- so that despite the flashes, his figure would remain shadowed.

"Tuck your head a wee bit more-perfect!" Flashflashflashflashflash. A blond woman leaned down as she examined the shots. "You're great, kid! I'm glad we get to see you tomorrow as well, thanks for the work!"

Sasuke nodded, and began removing his clothes as I walked over. Seeing me, he smirked. "You should have gotten more sleep," he informed me. "There's very little difference between a zombie's face and the way you look."

"Glad to see you don't look as tired," I shot back. "Kakashi said I should come watch you."

"Hn." He pulled his normal clothes back on, and didn't bother to answer.

"Don't they have dressing rooms in here?" I asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "If we had to lock ourselves up every time we changed, it'd be endless. They have panels, if you want."

"You're not using them," I remarked.

He sighed. "It's only a matter of time before we both show up in boxers inside magazines everyone can buy," he pointed out. "And I've already been shot in both swimsuits and boxers. You could say modesty doesn't have its place here."

Nodding dumbly, I followed him to his next group, which this time focused solely on clothing.

I watched as Sasuke tried what seemed like a hundred different articles of clothing, pose and act like the flashes didn't bother him at all. Photographers, I soon discovered, adored him. And suddenly I could understand why they did, and why the female half of our school treated the teme like a living god.

Sasuke Uchiha knew his business. Each time he got in front of the cameras, his eyelids would lower, his lips part slightly, or on the contrary tighten, and his body would adopt the corresponding stance; relaxed, nostalgic, dreamy, or dubious, angry even -he'd been posing for an anti-violence ad- , each time meeting his demands perfectly.

I watched in awe, amazed the teme was actually capable of showing something else than scorn, and all the while wondering how I'd ever manage to look this natural. So it didn't come as a surprise to either of us that I was stressed to an extent no one wanted to imagine when we left to eat lunch, my nervousness only increasing when we headed back to the studio.

A welcoming committee -composed solely of models- awaited us. I counted eighteen of them, Sai included, who all looked like they'd walked out of some Hollywood movie. I thanked God this was the only place so many guys like that could group up; if they all started going to the same school, the regular guys wouldn't stand a single chance. Wait, what was I saying? These were all adults. Young adults, perhaps, but Sasuke and I were clearly the youngest of the group, and in any case, judging from the way some held each other, I doubted they were interested in girls. Despite my nervousness, I smiled.

"So this is the famous Uchiha," one of them said. And suddenly, all the eyes were drawn to the teme. The guy who had spoken extended his hand. "Suigetsu," he introduced himself. "Feel free to pose with me whenever you like."

His proposal was echoed by several other guys, and suddenly I snapped.

"Back off," I growled menacingly, stepping in front of Sasuke. His previous remarks flashed through my head. "He's straight, and he's with me." Behind me, I heard the teme sigh. What now?

"With you?" Suigetsu repeated. "As in..."

"As in we're posing together," Sasuke finally cut. "And I don't recall anyone saying we were payed to flirt. Now move."

Five minutes later, we arrived in my personal definition of Hell. The cameras were already set up, as was the setting, which looked like some kind of bar. Strangely, people that awaited us weren't only part of the shooting crew.

"Uchiha, Uzumaki, over here!" Kakashi waved us over from his post, and I felt my heartbeat accelerate.

"Relax, dobe," Sasuke whispered. "It'll be fine."

I said nothing as we approached our manager, who once again had managed to cover three quarters of his face.

"I figured you might want to start slowly," he said as we sat down. "Today we're working for a non-profit organization who wants to fight against homophobia."

"I suppose we'll be the targets," Sasuke supplied.

Kakashi nodded. "I believe that since you're good-looking, the ladies at least might be more forgiving." He gave us an invisible grin.

"So, uh..." I flushed slightly as they both turned towards me. "What are we going to do?"

"Well, first off, we need to create your alter ego."

"My-what?"

"Alter ego. We're going to create an 'onstage' personality so you'll slip into your role more easily."

Something clicked inside my head. "You mean like in a play?"

The man nodded emphatically. "Exactly like. Except I'm even nicer; you get to choose your character's name."

My mind suddenly felt clear. An act. All I had to do was act.

"He's been in the theater club," the teme explained to Kakashi as I leaned back, relieved. "I hadn't thought about that."

"I'm starting to think we were more than lucky the day he stepped into my office," Kakashi said cheerfully. "So, for the name?"

The teme's lips moved up as he spoke. "Kit," he told our manager.

"Because of the whiskers? Suits me. Naruto?"

I blinked, and nodded under Sasuke's forceful glare. "Doesn't he get a nickname too?"

"I'm used to this, dobe. I don't need-"

"Yes, but Naruto might." Kakashi paused, thoughtful. "What about Raven? There's this French poem from La Fontaine called _The Raven and the Fox_, about-"

"I'm fine with Raven," I interrupted quickly. "So what's my role?"

Kakashi gave me a puzzled look. "Your role," he then repeated, blinking out of his haze. "Technically, from what I saw yesterday, you're both going to get two separate sets. We'll keep the same names, since I'm lazy, so you'll have to create an inner 'division' of your character."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Seemingly oblivious, our manager continued, turning to me. "So the easiest for you to play, I believe, is the 'shy' Kit; you'll be very sensitive to people's thoughts, the look they give you, how they speak to you. The matching Raven's personality will be the dominant, as indecently arrogant as possible side of our Uchiha -you shouldn't have too much trouble with it," he added to the teme, "who will never miss an opportunity to pull his act to the limits of decency." I looked down, flushing, and he nodded appreciatively. "That's the face you're going to be making most of the time for this Kit. Blush included of course."

My cheeks reddened even more, and I let Kakashi continue.

"I believe you'll like the second one better once you get used to this. Adjectives to describe you this time are bold, unrestrained, fearless and cheerful. This Kit _will_ fight Heaven and Hell twice if these two places want to try and separate him from his lover, boyfriend, or whatever my imagination comes up with. You'll be leading a much quieter Raven through each of your schemes, teasing him all you want, since you know he won't mind. Too much. Only rule he'll want you to be careful with -the same one your shy version will ask of the dominant Raven- is not to do too much in public. Of course you'll play with the limits."

I allowed a soft smile to form upon my face. That sounded like something even I could do. If I had been gay and in love with the teme, of course. Nodding to my manager, I prepared myself to hear my first role.

"Right," Kakashi sighed. "You can both slip into character, and I'll explain. Kit, you've been going out with Raven here" -he poked Sasuke- "for a year now. You're perfectly comfortable with your homosexuality and you don't give a damn about who knows; this behavior already got you into several fights, but you don't let it get you down. Today Rave decided he wanted to eat with you, and since you never miss an occasion to publicly show you love him, you deem this as a good opportunity to do so. However, you know that Raven doesn't like being the center of attention, so you opt for something discreet."

"Discreet?" I repeated, confused.

"Which doesn't draw too much attention," Sasuke supplied.

"Exactly. So while you're waiting in line, you grab his hand, and lean against his shoulder. You can develop on it if you want, or let Sasuke take the lead. Make sure we can see your hands though."

I went over the 'script' as we moved into place. Kakashi showed us where we needed to stand, with what angle and all the small details viewers wouldn't know about but were still important. Kit...Sasuke had done this on purpose. That way Sai's kiss could be considered the same way I'd later see this; an act.

The other models -members of the bar- installed themselves and I mentally shook myself. I had rarely acted on such a short notice, and I needed to focus on...Kit. Kit wasn't scared. Right now, I was him. And I wasn't scared either. My Naruto mind made a complete shutdown as I slipped into character. Raven was the dearest person to me. And I didn't give a damn about people's opinion on the matter.

"Let's go." Sasuke's -no Raven's- voice was soft, and we stepped into the scenery. I smiled brightly. It wasn't often that Raven offered me to eat lunch together.

Quickly I inspected the clients; none of them were looking at us, probably assuming we were just friends. Eyes barely lifted as we passed, unbothered by the sight of two young men walking next to one another. Friends, they thought. I could see it. Well, they shouldn't get the wrong idea, should they? With a small grin, I let my hand slide down Raven's arm. I knew he wouldn't want me to kiss him in such a public place. But he didn't mind this small gesture. Small, yet significant to anyone who saw it; and I made sure they did. Satisfied, I leaned against my boyfriend's shoulder, and-

Flashflashflashflash.

I brought both hands to my face, my Naruto self rebooting as soon as I broke contact with Sasuke. "My _eyes_ dammit! There's a reason you can't take pictures during a play!"

"This isn't a play, dobe." Well, Sasuke was back to his usual annoying self; his eyes narrowed in my direction, and he remained completely ignorant of Kakashi's comments. I, on the other hand, was always open to praise.

"-acting like you've done this your entire life" -sadly the beginning had been covered by a certain teme- "and never knew anything else! You're brilliant! For a moment there I even believed you!"

Sasuke, however, had another way of seeing things. "Do you have a split personality disorder?" he asked while Kakashi inspected the shots.

I blinked. "Aren't those people supposed not to remember what happened?"

He gave me a suspicious look. "_You_ weren't there anymore."

"Of course not," I replied, rolling my eyes. "I'd have ruined it. Kit is gay, I'm not. Kit is in love with you-"

"And you aren't," he finished. "Which supports my theory."

"Well, in that case you can add all my previous characters into the mix." I frowned at him. "It's just an act, teme."

"Hn." He turned and walked away, leaving me more confuses than I previously was.

"Back on stage everyone!" Kakashi suddenly bellowed. I turned around to what had been previously been the bar, and what now was the likeliest version of a dark alley. How things had changed so fast I wasn't sure of. "Kit, get over here so you can hear your new role!"

I sighed. That guy was way too cheerful for my mental stability. It was a mystery as to how the teme managed to stand it.

We finished six hours later. Oh, no, don't think a single group of photographers held us so long. There were four more of them. One American, one Canadian, one French, and one Russian. Thankfully, everyone spoke English. Kakashi stayed with us through the entire afternoon, leaving only once everything was over. Exhausted, I had followed the teme back to my room, falling asleep on my bed as soon as I fell upon it, omitting, for once, that I hadn't eaten.

* * *

I woke just in time to hear the teme's first groans. He was already shaking when I reached him, and jerked when I grabbed his arms. His hands snatched my wrists instantly, and I yelped as he forced me to release him.

"Teme, let go!" I cried, fighting the tight clutch of his grip. Somehow, he heard me, and loosened his hold, his hands falling back against the mattress, limp. His body relaxed, and I sighed, leaning over him to readjust the covers.

"Ow!" I brought a hand to my head, eyes watering. Sasuke had brutally straightened, his forehead slamming into mine. "Dammit, teme!"

"Naruto?" He sounded confused. "Where are you?"

"In front of you, bastard," I grumbled.

"I can't see anything." He wasn't awake. Conscious, he'd never have sounded so frightened. My eyes had adapted to the dim light, and could see his were wide open. And yet he was blind.

"Here." I caught his hand, squeezing it to show him I was really there. "You're just having a nightmare, teme."

He nodded, and I felt his fingers slide in between mine, which in turn caused me to flush. "Teme what-" But before I finished, me fell back on the pillows, breathing normally once more.

He did not wake up again. He did wake me up, though, on four occasions; his shaking had been enough to pull me out of my uncomfortable slumber, I only had to squeeze his fingers slightly to make him relax again.

* * *

This soon became a routine. Around one I would wake up just before he started his nightmares, and hold his hand throughout the night. I'd fall asleep around dawn, and remain oblivious to his alarm. He'd install me on his bed and leave for his morning work. I'd wake no later than noon, and undergo an entire excursion in order to find him in the enormous complex. After that, we'd eat, and work.

The first week was soft; there was no removal of clothing (the pictures were destined to the general public), despite some kissing -mostly fake- on the neck and such.

It was mostly hugging; Kakashi had finally revealed his perverted nature, and made us take poses I hadn't imagined being capable of performing.

"Okay, Kit, this time you can pull the shy play; Rave, I want your hand down on his hip, and giving us the 'he's mine you can't have him' glare you're so fond of. Kit, if you could just hold on to his arm -yeah, just like that- , as if you wanted him to stop scaring people off, and...fire!"

I kept myself from blinking as I focused upon playing my supposedly embarrassed role. Raven held me tightly from behind, with his left arm beneath mine, crossing my chest to hook on my opposite shoulder. His right one trapped my other arm, hand gripping my hip as our manager had demanded. Two of his fingers had vanished beneath my shirt, supposedly teasing. So I acted teased, and shy.

The flashes went off again as we continued our performance; Raven lifted the hem of my shirt ever so slightly as he leaned down to brush his lips against my skin-

"Stop." Kakashi sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Stop everything. Sasuke, you're making that face again. Is there a problem with that particular side of his neck?"

The teme said nothing, and unwrapped his arms from around my waist, shrugging the question away. I remained silent, trying to keep my hand away from the offending piece of flesh. The same one Sai had kissed. Why did the teme suddenly start to mind?

Over the last few days, my two Kit personalities had gotten clearer through the acts Kakashi made us play. Kit loved Raven more than anything else. Even his shy version would not hesitate to throw himself against anyone who wished to harm his other half. The dom-Raven was the most possessive arrogant bastard I had ever seen. The teme played his role perfectly -in Kakashi's opinion- and most of the time my reactions -either embarrassment or a need to calm him down- weren't really an act. In any case, I had gotten used to my two roles.

"Sir?" I asked Kakashi. "Could I speak to him in private?"

The pervert shrugged. "Try to be quick about it. I don't like being late on schedule."

Ha. Like he wasn't late on half of our shootings. Mentally snorting, I grabbed Sasuke and led him far from eyes and ears.

"What is wrong with you?" I growled once we were securely locked inside the closest bathroom.

He glared at the door and didn't answer.

I pulled his head back towards me, rubbing his cheek to warn him I was slipping into character. I had discovered he was more willing to talk when acting, since everything he said were his character's words.

"Rave," I asked softly. "What's wrong?" I placed a perfectly convincing look of worry upon my face. Sighing, he closed his eyes. This was his own warning. After that, cameras could roll.

Raven's face was dark, and he didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pulled me against his chest, clutching my shoulder blades in a desperate manner. Kit -I- held him back, rubbing my hands against his lower back in a way I hoped was soothing. For a while we both remained silent, as I tried to relax the taller figure.

"Tell me what's wrong," I finally said. "It's Sai, isn't it?"

He tensed, and his answer came out as a muffled growl. "He kissed you," he finally admitted. "He kissed you and I let him do it." I stiffened, and his grip tightened. "Kit," he forced out. "Stay. Please."

He never said please. Not to me, not to Naruto. Suddenly I felt sick. Easing myself out of his grip, I went to the sink, aware that he watched me with a intent gaze.

"I'm not leaving just yet," I mumbled. There was a sponge on the side of the sink. Probably there to remove tenacious makeup. I grabbed it, and passed it under cold water. My collar had already been loosened purposedly for the shooting; I had no problem gaining access to my skin, and began rubbing the side of my neck, staring into emptiness.

I hadn't spoken to Sai since our first encounter, though I had seen him on several occasions. He greeted me normally, never mentioning our strange first day. And despite this Sasuke -Raven- stiffened every time he approached me, frowned if his lips ever got too close to the area of skin I presently was trying to remove from my neck.

"Kit. Stop it." I guessed my throat was reddening, from the tone Raven used. Ignoring the order, I stepped away from him as he approached. I needed to get it off. I needed to get it all off.

"Stop,"Raven growled, more forcefully this time. I could hardly hear him. All that mattered was that to him I was soiled, dirty from that kiss and disgusting to his eyes.

"Dammit, Naruto, this isn't funny!"

I winced as he slammed me against the wall, and looked up to him. He needed to see I wasn't acting. "I can't get it off, teme," I told him angrily. "What happened happened and there's nothing I can do to change that."

He stared at me for several seconds, his breathing slightly increased due to his sudden panic.

"Slip into character," he finally ordered. "Just...just for a moment."

I gave the teme a confused look, but he closed his eyes. Sighing, I called Kit back and gripped his hand softly. Self-disgust and shame washed over me, and I hung my head.

"Kit..."Gentle fingers pulled my chin up, and I stared into obsidian eyes, realizing all of a sudden it wasn't something I did often. At least, not while they were this soft. "This is for us. They can shoot the rest if they want." He leaned forward, and before I could think of, well, anything, his lips pressed softly against mine.

It wasn't a deep kiss. The whole thing lasted barely long enough for my brain to catch up with the situation. Raven remained extremely gentle, aware that as soon as my mind got too worked up I would switch back to Naruto.

"Kit," he spoke, and it was enough to keep me in place for seconds more.

"Yeah?"

"This is for us," he repeated. "I won't envy Sai now. You can leave." He let go of my chin, and stepped away from me. I blinked a few times, trying to get my thoughts in order, but his voice caught my attention. "Hatake's going to murder you," Sasuke remarked with his usual smirk. "Your neck is a mess."

I shrugged, glad he was normal again. "We can do side pictures," I told him. "The gripping thing you did right after the first time we switched. Think you can do it again?"

He stayed thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. "Everything except the last part."

I forced myself to grin. "That's fine. It was for them, anyways. Or so he said." The teme knew who I was talking about. Shrugging, he followed me back to the cast.

* * *

**Okay, I'll say this again: any misuse in vocabulary is pleading to be reported. I don't have a beta, so there's no one who can help me but you guys. So please tell me if some things aren't properly labeled. I'd like to know before chapter 4 comes out.  
**

**Oh, and of course, plot reviews are also very much appreciated (even more so if cookies are included ^^ ). I MEAN IT! Review, or I'll make you wait two weeks for the next chapter!  
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	4. Turning point

**Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto. Seriously, people. I don't.**

**Okaaay. End of our two lovebird's first week! They finally get to enjoy their first weekend, two blissful days of peace before Kakashi gets his hands one them once more... Basically, this is a transition chapter. I thought I'd delete it, but it's important to the plot, so...Sigh. Enjoy it, try to review...**

* * *

For the first time since we had arrived here, I was woken from a deep slumber by Sasuke's cell-phone alarm. I groaned, turning away from the sound and wishing myself back to the hazy world of dreams. But my brain switched to its awaken mode, and I grudgingly lifted my eyelids.

As usual, I was in the teme's bed. But for once, I wasn't alone. Apparently unaware that I was awake, Sasuke straightened, groaned, and leaned over me to grab the source of the alarm. His chest brushed against my shoulder slightly, and it took all of my will not to flatten myself on the mattress -thus revealing my conscious state- and flush into various shades of red.

Only when Sasuke carefully lifted my head did I realize I had been using his arm as a pillow. And since my foggy mind was unable to answer the first of the many questions I was asking myself, I rose brutally and scattered away o the opposite side of the bed.

"What the hell is going on?" I cried, cheeks flaring when I realized the teme was...Well, okay, he wasn't naked. But I could barely see his boxers from where I was; the sheets covered most of his waist, and the only thing that poked out from beneath them (aside from his upper body) was three-quarters of his left leg, all of it bare.

"Don't you remember?" he asked dryly, rubbing his eyes. Then he looked up and smirked. "I told you you were schizophrenic."

"Teme!" I vainly tried to retrieve the missing information from my brain. "Tell me what happened!"

"I can't," he replied. More quietly, he added, "I didn't dream."

And then the memories came back. Of course. For some reason, the teme had left me enough space to let me sit on his bed instead of his armchair. So naturally I had installed myself there, and he'd felt me sit next to him. His hand had blindly reached for mine, like every other night, and I had allowed myself to lean back and relax.

Despite the fact that I was a light sleeper, he hadn't woken me at all. Which meant his nightmares had stopped.

"It's the first time this happened, right?"

There was a slight frown on his face when he nodded. "I almost slept normally," he remarked, mostly to himself.

"Do they always happen?" I asked, mostly curious. "The nightmares, I mean." I had only witnessed them when I had invited him over, which had been, needless to say, rare occasions. But after one week of consecutive thrashing, I was beginning to wonder if this was more than a hazardous strike.

He looked away. "Only when I'm not at home."

I frowned. "But how do you do when no one's around?"

He didn't answer. Perhaps he knew he didn't need to. Because, deep down, I didn't need him to.

Something in my chest tightened painfully. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" I asked weakly. "What about Itachi? Does he know?"

He shook his head, and got to his feet, rummaging through the drawers in order to find some clothes. "It's my business."

For the first time in all of our discussions, I was speechless. There was no way I could find a word strong enough to describe how much of an idiot I thought he was.

"Put some clothes on," he ordered me carelessly. "You haven't exercised in the entire week. Keep this up and they won't want you back on the team once we return."

He was good at distracting me. Alarmed, I had immediately retreated to my own rooms to put on something I could run with. By the time I was dressed, the teme looked as fresh as he did during a normal day, and I took it as a signal not to pursue the uncomfortable subject.

We reached the track several minutes later, and Sasuke checked his watch. "Three hours should do," he remarked. "Let's go."

We took off effortlessly, running in a much slower fashion than we'd done on the first day.

"You ran during the week?" I inquired after a while.

"Yes, dobe," Sasuke replied, speaking as though he were speaking to a very slow child. "It's called staying in shape." Before I could reply, he accelerated, and ran ahead of me. I didn't follow, knowing he was enjoying speed before his legs started complaining. I'd catch up eventually.

Dust blew around our feet as we stepped onto it, and our footsteps resonated against the studio's walls, making up the only sound of the area. We ran, and I soon lost track of how long we'd gone, or how much was left. Adrenaline eventually flooded my veins, easing my previously aching muscles. It was one of those times where the world just stopped turning, where all of my thoughts vanished and I fell into complete oblivion while my legs worked.

I didn't need to think. The air whipped my face harshly at times, and I focused solely on the wind hitting my face, the sound of our footsteps, and the sight of the teme running silently ahead. I could also smell the nearby pines that surrounded part of the track, and let the scent fill my nostrils. My mind was empty. I didn't think. I _felt_.

Finally Sasuke slowed. I had caught up with him at some point, although I could never remember when. To me, this was different than waking up from a dream. I blinked, and suddenly realized we had an audience.

"What are you doing here?" I nearly yelled at Sai, who stood exactly where he'd been on our first encounter.

"It's good to see you on the track again," he remarked, ignoring my question. "You're never quite so breathtaking as when you run. Your eyes are marvelous."

I felt blood rush to my cheeks as he smiled, but I suddenly remembered Sasuke's advice. "I'm straight," I told the guy. "I'm not interested in guys."

He kept smiling. "I don't believe 'Kit' is, though. I'm glad you kept the nickname."

My flush only deepened, when a low voice suddenly growled, "Kit's in love with _me_. He's not on the market."

I turned, slightly surprised to hear Raven's voice, and so angry to boot. Of course he'd switched to possessive bastard mode, but that in itself was unusual. Put shortly, he never, ever pulled an act when we weren't onstage or completely alone.

Sai, however, didn't seem too surprised. "My bad, then," he replied with another smile. "Shall we get going, then? Otherwise Kit won't have time to shower before he eats."

My wrist was abruptly seized and tugged, and I followed a wordless Raven back to the hotel, trying my best to ignore the other man, whose eyes did not leave me until we vanished from his view.

* * *

"I won't be eating with you," Sasuke announced when I stepped out of the bathroom, clean and almost dry. "I have" -he paused, hesitating slightly- "an interview."

Just as he expected, I crackled with laughter. "You? You mean you actually know how to interact with people? Man, I've got to see this."

"You won't. They don't want anyone who isn't participating. Meaning that even if I ask, and be sure that I won't, they'll keep you locked out."

"But teme..." I pouted, then realized something. "You mean I'm eating by myself?" Oh, yeah. My brain was definitely slowing down these days.

He sighed, hitting my head lightly. "Dobe, it's only two hours." Looking at me, he paused, then reluctantly added, "Ask Sai. I'm sure he'll be glad to eat with you."

"But-"

"I'd rather have you eat with him than eat alone," he snapped, suddenly angry. "The second option will render you useless for the rest of the day."

God, how did he know that? How was he aware of the fact that my stomach twisted in anguish at the simple thought of eating by myself? I had been alone during my childhood. Despite my loving parents, something had kept me from building any kind of relationship before I entered middle school, and met Sasuke. It had turned out to be the greatest rivalry any of our peers had ever witnessed. Only when we'd realized we were off to different high school did we notice we were going to miss each other. On the following year, the teme had returned, and against all odds a friendship had formed.

Looking at him, I finally shrugged my acceptance, and he walked out without a word. Before I could call after him he had vanished.

"You know, you'll get cramps if you keep your mouth open like that."

I jumped, startled, and turned. Sai was standing under the connecting door's arch.

"What are you doing here?" Why did I always ask the same things to people? It was getting redundant.

"Uchiha called me while you were washing. The discussion you just had was only meant to dress things up." Sai smiled at my outrageous expression. "He's angrier than you," he then remarked. "Angry to leave you with me."

There was no denying the matter. "He can get like that," I admitted. "So keep your hands to yourself."

To my surprise, I saw that he was taking my advice seriously. "I got the hint," Sai assured me. "Your boyfriend doesn't want to see us too close" -I opened my mouth- "And apparently you don't want either, so" -he clapped his hands together- "I hope we can still get along."

Sighing, I shrugged, then finally smiled. The guy was weird. Admit it, move on. I extended my hand. "So do I."

* * *

I soon learned that once you got past his strange behavior, Sai was one interesting dude. He was in medical school, learning psychology, more specifically, and painted in his free time. His work as a model was occasional, done more to please than to actually make a living out of it.

"So your relationship with Sasuke began with a fight?" he asked as I finished telling him how I had met the teme.

"A kiss, actually." Somehow, it was impossible to feel embarrassed. "It was an accident, and the fight we had afterward proved neither of us appreciated it."

"When did you realize you liked him?"

"Don't say it like that," I protested. "I'm not in love with him or anything."

"I saw the pictures they took," Sai replied smoothly. "You looked in love."

"That was Kit," I said patiently. "Ever heard of acting? I've taken theater courses, for Pete's sake."

"You're good."

I waved the compliment away. "I've trained. There was a time where I couldn't keep myself from laughing during the play. But I worked hard, and it paid off. Like you with painting, I suppose."

"I'm not that good," he immediately said. "What I do is very classic."

I gave him a playful shove. "Stop fishing for compliments, I'm not giving them. Why don't you let me see for myself? Do you have some here?"

He nodded. "I take them with me wherever I go. But we don't have time now for you to appreciate them fully." He checked his watch. "Your friend will be here in ten minutes, and I have to leave this afternoon." He smiled. "The weekend's the only time I have to visit my living family."

"You shouldn't miss it, then," I replied with a grin. "The teme said we'd go back on the second weekend to see ours. So right now I'm stuck here."

"With Sasuke," Sai reminded me. Thoughtful, he added, "Next Friday we're getting the afternoon -that is, the whole day for you- off. You could come then."

I frowned. "How come?"

"Hatake's taking us to Paris. He should announce it on Monday, and he'll allow us to leave earlier to say goodbye to our families and friends. Though next week I'll be staying here."

"We're going to Paris?" I had almost yelled. Sai winced, and nodded. "The last two weeks are devoted to themed pictures. The French capital is one of Hatake's first choices. That, and the fact that he has to attend to a mundane party, where some of his most important associates will be. He can't miss it, and he can't miss us. So we're coming with him."

"And he only gives us a week's notice?"

Sai shrugged. "It won't change much, except for the scenery and language. The schedules remain unmodified."

I gave him an odd look. "How do you know all this?" I finally asked.

He smiled sweetly. "I listen."

* * *

**Yeah, so sorry about that. So next chapter's going to be a lot more fun (I promise) for you, my dear readers**, **as well as our protagonists, and myself (can you hear my evil crackling?). Do you all feel ready for week number two? And whatever lays waiting for them once they cross the Altantic? Muahahahaha...**_**I**_** can't wait. **

**Reviewz! I live for them! (That, and cookies and chocolate)...**


	5. That fine line

**I'm baaaaaaaaack! And more hyper than ever. You guys are all making me happy, so here's a brand new chapter for you. A couple of things I have to draw your attention on, however:**

**1) I don't own Naruto. **

**2) AspergianStoryteller's reaction to this fic: "Just to see him that red? Sure Sasuke. Sure." I hadn't realized how true that was until it was pointed out to me...My brain's evil, I tell you.**

**3) Your reviews make me wake up ten minutes before my alarm rings, which is saying how much I love them.**

**4) Please enjoy.**

* * *

**That fine line**

"Finger dipping." I snorted, though at the moment, I wasn't feeling the slightest bit amused. "_Finger dipping_. What the hell was he thinking?"

You might be wondering what I was ranting about. Fine, I'll tell you. At the end of last week, Kakashi had warned us we would be working on more suggestive pictures, which would mean, in the least, that we could start kissing our clothes goodbye.

Today, however, we had barely unbuttoned our shirts. But with our perverted manager, there was no need to go far. He had succeeded in making it just as hard while keeping us fully dressed.

* * *

I was playing shy Kit today. And fell a lot like my character. Kakashi had given the teme private instructions -which meant I had no idea of what he would do to me-, and had assured me I didn't need to do much besides play my usual role.

At first, things had been pretty basic. Too affectionate for straight males, mind -lots of hands slipping underneath loose shirts and such- but nothing too extravagant, compared to what we had done last week.

And then, Raven hugged me from behind. I shivered accordingly, closing my eyes in the process, which earned us a couple of flashes. I let my eyelids rise slowly, allowing them to cloud with lust -trick I regretfully admit having learned from the pervert manager- as Raven's hands intertwined, flattening against my bare stomach. Bare, because my black shirt was almost completely unbuttoned. Kakashi had wanted us to play the bad boys, insisting that black made my eye color pop out.

Kissing my throat softly, he let his hands slide lower, and lower, and I blushed, grateful for my permission to act shy. As Raven's fingertips reached the hem of my jeans, I buried my face into his neck, drawing a sharp breath as they slipped past the fabric.

Cameras fired at us, and I only had to endure a few seconds of Raven gently rubbing the skin hidden beneath my jeans, before he finally released me. Kit vanished right there, and my anger immediately bubbled up to my lips.

"WHAT THE HELL-" A fist connected with the back of my head, and Sasuke covered my mouth with his hand, no more gentle.

"Stop shouting, dobe," he growled. "No one here wants to become deaf."

"You didn't touch anything, did you?" Kakashi asked the teme, stretching lazily as he inspected the shots. Sasuke shook his head, still keeping my mouth firmly shut. "Then I don't see what you're complaining about," he told me. "They're good, too."

Wrenching the teme's hand off, I glared at our manager. I swear, if looks could kill, he'd already be buried right now. "You could've warned me! Didn't you think I might say no?"

"Which is precisely why I didn't," he replied evenly. "Besides, it would have ruined the effect if we had. Wonderful blush, back there. I love it." As I began glowering at him, Kakashi sighed. "We're not here to make you molest each other," he informed me. "Itachi was clear on that matter. I promise we won't go any further than finger dipping. And don't start talking about accidents; pinkies hardly reach that far."

* * *

"Yeah, right." I paced furiously in the teme's room, ignoring his gaze. I had stopped yelling once he'd promised me ramen for dinner, but it had taken me hours before I dared try the 'finger dipping' myself. "Like my pinkie won't touch anything if I slide my hand along with it."

The week's program had suddenly become a source of worry.

"How come we have themes now?" I asked the teme. "Why don't we do it like last week?"

"Last week there were only small companies," he replied. "They didn't need that many pictures. Those taken this week will end up in magazines, not ads. They need to take a lot more."

So there had been more cameras and photographers. And I had thought my imagination had been playing tricks on me.

"It'll be a lot faster to work this way for the crew," Sasuke added. "Kakashi will sort the pictures out afterward."

I nodded, re-reading the schedule for the umpteenth time.

Monday - Finger Dipping

Tuesday – Shirts-a-tossing

Wednesday – Boxer-showing

Thursday – You'll be wondering

Friday - …Lucky Break

Kakashi sounded truly disappointed. On paper. How weird was that? Sasuke had then proceeded into translating things for me. Tomorrow we'd be posing with bare chests, Wednesday only with boxers (like I couldn't figure that out), and as for Thursday...the teme didn't know any more than me.

"I knew he'd pull the weird costume act," I mumbled, glaring at the mysterious date.

"I wouldn't bet on it." Sasuke's voice was more careful than usual; he knew I was still angry, and also expected my to tease him about his interview. But I didn't feel like it at the moment. Sighing, he added, "Kakashi gave me some details for tomorrow and Wednesday."

I reacted to that. "Really?"

He nodded, amused by my sudden interest. "Tomorrow we won't do any finger dipping-"

"Thank god," I muttered, closing my mouth as he scowled.

"However we'll be wearing low-waist jeans, and we'll do a lot of 'extensive hugging'."

"That's what Itachi had mentioned," I recalled. "It is-"

"Same as today, save the part you didn't like, and the shirts."

I relaxed. "Better than today, then."

He gave a slight shake of head, and I frowned. "Not necessarily." My frown deepened when I realized his next sentence had trouble coming out. "We have to...kiss. Not on the mouth," he added quickly. "But not on the neck or collarbone either."

I knew my face was reddening. "Where?"

Silently, Sasuke waved in the general area of his chest. "And the back. Kakashi said the spine would be our principal victim."

This wasn't good. Having just realized exactly how twisted our manager could become, I knew there was no way this could be good. "And" -I gulped- "Wednesday?"

"Bed scenes." The teme's face was unreadable. "Mornings, evenings, games, although he assured me there would be nothing explicit, and nothing -eyes, cameras of fingers- would go beneath our boxers." He looked away. "There will be massages though."

This time I didn't get the allusion. "How is that bad?"

Turning back, he gave me a stern look. "Undress and I'll show you."

Naturally, I flushed. But past my embarrassment, my logical mind figured I might as well start dealing with the entire thing. I had consciously agreed to pose for gay magazines more than a week ago. The real work had only just begun. And there was no way I was backing down.

"Might as well," I sighed, taking off my shirt. "Better get embarrassed in private. At least I'll be ready."

He shrugged and undressed as well. "Lie down," he ordered, indicating his bed. "On your stomach."

I threw my discarded clothes inside my room before dropping onto the mattress, where Sasuke had left me some space. I tensed slightly as I felt his knees slide on either side of my waist, then ordered my body to relax. Things wouldn't go further than...than what? The teme knew, at least. And he'd never go too far.

So I remained still as he sat on my lower back, and began massaging my shoulder blades. Just as I started thinking this wasn't so bad, the teme leaned forward. I waited nervously as his chest pressed against my back, hands edging upwards to my neck and collarbone. I felt his breath against the back of my neck, and this time I was unable to repress a shiver.

"Rave..." My Naruto self fled the scene, deciding Kit would deal with nervousness much more easily. The hands rubbing against my body slowed momentarily as Sasuke slipped into character. Suddenly he felt much more relaxed.

"Don't worry, Kit," he said in a teasing voice. "I'll be gentle." He nibbled my ears, and I shivered again, though this time not from unease. Laughing softly, he pulled back, lowering his head to kiss the base of my neck, hands brushing against my sides.

Raven's mouth trailed down my spine, and my back arched as he got lower, holding my waist without stopping the movement of his fingers. He halted just before reaching my boxers, and wordlessly began massaging me again.

I mumbled something incoherent as I dozed off. Past the blush-worthy moments, he was really good at this. I relaxed, and soon began moving along with the pale hands. So that when Raven suddenly stopped, I let out a weak groan of complaint.

"Kit," he said softly. "If you keep moving like that, I'm going to get horny." His voice was filled with evil mischief, but I recognized the warning tone for what it was. I opened my eyes, and as my foggy mind unclouded itself, I realized what the problem was. And if you still don't get it, let's just say that my consistent rocking hadn't helped his groin.

I immediately tensed, causing him to hiss as my muscles contracted against the sensitive, boxer-clad part of his flesh, thinking furiously about my options. First, I could switch back to my Naruto self, freak out, and hurl the teme as far away from me as I could manage. Which meant I'd never be able to face him again. Second, I could keep the shy act up, and let him take the lead, which basically meant waiting for him to calm down. Or I could pull the energetic Kit out and continue what I had unwillingly started.

That last though caused my cheeks to flare up, and I opted for the second, safer choice. Tilting my head back, I let my face become flooded with nothing but concern. "Rave," I called, maintaining him into character. "Are you alright?" Good. My voice sounded exactly the way I wanted it to.

Raven's lips were pressed tightly against one another, and his cheeks were slightly flushed (as in, they were only a little paler than a non-blushing, average human being). Apparently, he didn't trust his body enough to get off me, since his chest remained perfectly still as he rubbed my lower back.

"Wait," he forced out. "Don't move."

I did my best to remain still, and I gradually felt the hardness pressing against me vanish. As soon as his problem was gone, Raven grunted angrily and climbed off of me. Before he left the bed, however, I caught his arm. I knew he would keep the memory on the teme side of his mind if I didn't do anything. "Rave, where are you going?" The childish tone worked perfectly; at this very moment, both Sasuke and Raven needed to feel that, one, they were still in control of something, and two, I was still fine with acting despite what had just happened.

The guilt and fear I had allowed my voice to reveal incited them -him- to use that very control, the one carrying over all of my emotions, wielding them, soothing them. Kit's emotions. Whatever.

So he gave up on whatever destination he had in mind, and sat back down, pulling me into a comforting embrace. Heh. Now I figured how I as shy Kit could love such a dominant bastard. The soothing voice, with his arms wrapping around me like barriers protecting me from the rest of the world, was well worth the rest. He held me against his chest until any sign of negative emotion had left my mind. I almost fell asleep in his arms, but eventually he released his hold.

"Dobe." For once, his normal voice was relaxed. "You need to go to bed."

I rubbed my eyes, and my brain supplied something smart to say. "I'm sleeping here," I yawned.

He snorted. "No you aren't."

"Yes I am." I forced my eyes open to make him see I was serious. "Every damn night I have to get out of bed because of your stupid dreams, and now that I finally realize all I have to do is sleep next to you to keep them away, you're not making me leave." He'd managed yesterday. But this time I was going to hold my ground. He scowled at me, wordless, and I yawned again. "I'm your personal dream catcher, teme. Don't worry, I stay on my side of the bed."

* * *

Of course I didn't. I woke the next morning with my head resting on the teme's chest, his arm lazily strapped around my waist. "Morning, Kit," he smirked, observing me blink my eyes awake.

I rubbed my face, and Sasuke dropped the act as he got up to change. "If you hurry we might have time to race today," he informed me, tossing me some clothes. "Get moving."

I grumbled and obeyed, not enjoying the fact I had woken early four days in a row. Despite this I was sleeping a lot better now that Sasuke's nightmares had stopped. "I told you I'd keep your dreams away," I said in a teasing voice, enjoying the fact that he couldn't deny my words.

"Hn." Not that admitting them was on his priority list either, but I still appreciated this small victory. "You also said you'd stay on one side of the mattress, dobe. And from what I recall, you were sprawled all over it not five minutes ago."

"Teme," I growled. Why couldn't he let me win, just once? Placing a pout on my unhappy face, I dressed, and was soon ready. The teme waited for me at the door, unashamedly wearing his usual smirk. I passed him, nose in the air, but unfortunately the bastard had other plans.

"Since when do you stop looking at me, Kit?" A before I could answer he was kissing me, much more forcefully than the last time. My Naruto self was shoved back into oblivion before it could react, and I let Kit take over. In such a public place, and in the position I was in, my first instinct was to let my shy version lead my body, but I was getting tired of that. So instead of gently following Raven's moves, I pinned him back against the door's arch, and forced his lips to part.

One must never think that the quiet, lazy Raven was submissive. Kakashi had been clear; in public I was the leader, since Rave wasn't interested in what people thought of him. But in private...in private ensued a battle for dominance where neither of us would admit defeat. A fierce tongue war erupted, accompanied by repetitive pinning against walls, doors and closets.

We had retreated back into Raven's room, and were slowly edging back to the bed. He slammed me on the mattress before I could flip us around, and I struggled, laughing despite my attempts to keep him off. Finally we both stopped, out of breath, and realized the position we were in.

Raven was on all fours, hands on either side of my head, knees cradling my waist. In his eyes, I could only see a hypnotizing look of want. Smiling mischievously, I hung my arms around his neck and pulled him down. He dropped without any restraint, momentarily knocking my breath out. Burying his face into my shoulder, he gripped me tightly, revealing a need and vulnerability his more dominant self could never willingly allow himself to show.

"We still have to run," I told him sweetly. "If you win, then I might play nice." He didn't answer, but soon disengaged himself from my arms. Once more, he waited for me at the door while I straightened and got to my feet.

The walk to the track was silent. I wasn't sure I had dropped the act yet, and my Naruto self refused to remove itself from the comforting dark corner of my brain. Part of me -a big part, mind- was confused. Why had Raven surfaced all of a sudden? He had told me the real kisses were just for us. I had understood why he did it the last time, but why now? Was he bothered by the meal I had shared with Sai? Sighing, I shook my head. Jealous bastard.

Sai didn't come to see us run today. I was grateful, seeing Raven stayed during the entire race, keeping an eye on the spot his 'twin' usually occupied. We didn't really race, though we did run faster than I liked; on the other hand, I wasn't exhausted at the end, and pretty satisfied my legs still knew how to work.

When we headed back I was surprised to see that Raven wasn't taking us back to the hotel. "They have showers in the studio," he explained. "I don't have time to go back."

I nodded, and followed him through a part of the complex I hadn't visited yet. The shower room was spacious, clean, and-

"Aw, man, can't they have individual cabins?" I whined, glancing at the open space surrounded by shower pommels.

"Quit complaining, dobe, and hurry up. I can't afford to wait for you."

Feeling slightly self-conscious now that Kit was gone, I undressed and rapidly went to the closest shower, pushing the water on. Warmness washed over me and I sighed, barely noticing the teme do the same a few feet away. Remembering he had asked me to be quick, I grabbed the sponge and soap and began to scrub myself, shivering slightly when the water flow halted.

Almost half a minute later, I groaned in frustration, annoyed by a very troublesome, very obvious problem the teme would have no trouble noticing once he looked. And no, it wasn't my groin. Stop smiling maliciously.

"Damn it!" But there was nothing to it. No matter how much I stretched and twisted, I couldn't reach that damn spot. You know, the one in the middle of your back, which most people can't touch because their arms are too short and you can hardly ever scrub? Yeah, that one.

"Dobe." I froze. That voice was much closer than I either expected or wanted it to be. Sasuke snatched the sponge from my hand and forced me to turn away. "You could have asked." He began making small circles against my skin, right where I needed him to. I sighed in relief, and he chuckled.

"Teme," I growled lazily. "Did I ever tell you you were good for these things?"

"No," he replied. "But I'll take the compliment." His circles spread, passing over my shoulder blades and lower back, and I hummed appreciatively. "You look drugged." It was his only warning before he sent water over us both. I had been standing directly beneath the pommel, and spluttered, gasping for dry air.

"Teme!" I cried, blindly reaching for him. His amused chuckle told me he was already too far. Rinsing my body, I glared at him. The virus Kakashi had implanted in my brain took that opportunity to see what the young Uchiha looked like without his clothes on. I had to admit, a naked Sasuke could be worth additional millions.

"Like what you see, dobe?"

I smirked back. "Just thinking the pervert would cry in anguish if he knew what he was missing."

Snorting, he stepped back to the dry area of the room, grabbed two towels and beckoned me over. "He'd be crying twice as hard if he considered you as well," he remarked indifferently. "Get over here."

I walked towards him, catching the towel as he threw it as me, and attacking my hair with it first. It was always better to start from there and work down. I stiffened when another towel wrapped against my legs, swiftly wiping them dry. "Sasuke!" I cried, stepping away from him. "I can do this myself!"

"Not with your speed," he replied. "I told you we needed to hurry. Slip into character if you're embarrassed" -he smirked- "Kit."

Again I glared. "I'm fine," was my grumbled answer. "Dry yourself."

* * *

A new routine formed in the following days. I slept next to the teme every night, and woke up in his arms every morning. He'd tease me about it, I'd snap back, and for some reason it always ended with the two of us switching to our characters and kissing before the end of the day.

And every time, he began the 'game' when I expected it the least, probably to see how fast I'd be able to slip into character. The bastard even counted how much time it took me to respond. My reaction to this little game was fairly simple; there was no way I wasn't getting revenge. So I pulled on the mischievous act and kissed him in the most public places I could find. Not on his lips, since he'd made me promise to keep that part private before starting to drive me crazy, but his neck, collarbone and chest hadn't been spared.

With that you need to add our perverted manager into the mix. Tuesday went roughly well; apart from several awkward positions I had to do, there was nothing we hadn't already done in private. Wednesday went a lot more smoothly than expected. I was careful not to arouse Raven while he straddled my back, which proved to be a challenge; after all, the massage was only part of Kakashi's plans of the day, and was far from being the worst.

"Kit, put those knees up a notch. And part your legs a little." Only Raven's amused look kept me from flushing as I obeyed. He gave me a predatory look, looming over me with a wolfish grin. "Rave, I want your hand on his thigh. Whichever you want...Yes, just like that, put your thumb a little bit more on the inside-" Just as I allowed any form of restraint on my cheeks to vanish, Raven leaned down and gently kissed my forehead. I ignored the twenty or so flashes to look up at him, and see he was smiling.

"I won't hurt you," he told me, so quietly I doubted anyone else had heard. At the same time, his thumb rubbed my skin and I moaned. The cameras didn't miss that. Although his hand was much closer to my knee than my pelvis, the action still remained embarrassingly intimate. Thankfully, our dear manager was a lot gentler than usual, and Raven did not leave throughout the entire afternoon, doing his best to help me relax.

I was both relieved and anxious at the end of the day, slipping into bed in a quieter fashion than usual. Relief came from obvious reasons, and anxiousness because of the next day. Kakashi still hadn't told us what we would be doing, although he had warned the teme his morning work was canceled, since he planned on using the entire day for whatever he had prepared.

* * *

I was nervous when he headed to the studios the next morning. Thank god this was the last day before our extended weekend. We entered, and before my eyes landed upon anything alarming, Kakashi had already pulled the teme and I into his office, where he swiftly introduced us to two female models, as well as the day's work; a TV commercial.

I'll spare you the shocked reactions that ensued, repeated when I learned that one of the girls was in fact a guy -named Haku- who would actually be playing a girl today. The other model, Temari, gave me a cheerful grin and salute as Kakashi told us what we'd be doing.

Verbally explained, it seemed fairly simple. The commercial's aim was to make viewers realize homosexuality wasn't completely wrong (now where had I seen that? Oh, wait I remember), with a pretty much straightforward technique; the four of us would be going on a date, and the viewer was supposed to be fooled until the very last scene.

I was first up on the screen, composing a phone number, and proposing whoever I was speaking to to meet at the park. Meanwhile Temari would do the exact same thing, so that the first scene played back and forth between the two of us. Despite the voice changes, the message was perfectly clear.

Then Haku and Sasuke answered. This time their scripts were slightly different -since Haku played a much shyer role than the teme- and then the screen split into four columns as we all hung up, followed by three individual scenes.

First, dressing; I'd hurriedly pick up a shirt from my desk chair, hastily putting it on. The screen would then darken, lighting up again as Temari pulled her closet open. As though following the movement, Sasuke would pull out shirt and pants (unlike Temari, he was filmed from the side, instead of the front), and finally Haku would be seen tying in his shoes.

Then the stairs. I lived in a dorm; Temari in a small apartment. The teme, of course, had a big house, while Haku's was more normal-looking. We were each filmed as we got out of our homes, climbing down (with more or less grace) whatever stairs we needed to go through.

Last came the traveling. This time the order differed; Sasuke was first, seated inside a luxurious car. Then I followed, contrasting with a bright orange skateboard, while Haku took the bus and Temari rode a bicycle.

We'd finally arrive, stopping or climbing out of our vehicles, eyes searching the crowd. And we'd see our dates. I'd wave, yelling a happy "Over here!"; Temari wouldn't even bother, dropping her bike on the spot and hurrying over to her date. Sasuke would smirk, and begin advancing towards his. Haku's reaction was barely different, except he wore a real smile, and waved back in greeting.

Eventually I'd start running as well, abandoning my skate on the ground just as Temari had done, and the screen divided itself in two, to show both of us running at full speed. Sasuke's smirk would then appear, followed by Haku's, and the two of them would brace themselves for the incoming blonds.

And to the viewer's (complete) surprise, I'd crash into the teme's arms, while Temari nearly lifted a laughing Haku off the ground. The last scene pictured the two couples walking away, next to one another, both hand in hand. The catchphrase would then appear at the bottom of the screen, something like '_It's not what you expected. Does that make it wrong?_', which I didn't find too bad.

Such was the theory. In practice, thing were a lot harder. To fuse Temari's and my voice together, we needed to talk at the exact same speed. Our movements were also a lot more supervised by the casting crew, which basically meant many retakes for everyone, including the teme (he had trouble with the welcoming part at the park). By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted, and Sasuke looked like he'd soon commit murder if people didn't leave him alone.

Pulling him away from the crowd as soon as Kakashi told us we could leave, I switched and kissed him unabashedly, deciding I could tease him to my liking. "I thought you were happy to see me back there, Rave," I said with an evil grin, showing him how tired I knew he was.

Despite his state he smiled and lifted my chin in order to kiss me again, longer this time. He then pulled back, staring at me for several seconds and finally smirking.

"Dobe," he said in an amused voice.

I -Kit- pouted, disappointed to see him drop the act so fast. Reluctantly I called Naruto back, and went to grumble into a side corner of his mind. Seeing the face I was making, Sasuke sighed and ruffled my hair. "We still need to say goodnight, Kit. I'll call Raven back after and you'll get to play."

My eyes lit, and I withdrew completely, following him back to the crowded side of the studio. We saluted everyone, and left swiftly. It was late, and we both decided that we could afford to skip dinner, for once. Kit's eagerness must have shown on my face, because the teme's smirk did not falter once during our entire way back.

* * *

**You're going to be boiling for the next chapter...I know I am. It should be the angstiest chap of this fic, though the last one does come a little close (don't worry, though, it's a happy ending). So, review, my fellow readers! The weekend is close, for both us and our two lovebirds, and I will type as fast as my fingers can move if need be. **

**Unrelated but funny sidenote; today I noticed my mom and sisters actually wrote their names on yoghurts in order to make sure they each had their share. I feel the end is near...**

**Again, review. Makes me write faster. And wake up early.**


	6. Dreams, day and night

**Fish soup. The greatest evil on Earth. And the reason I'm only updating now (yeah, I actually got my computer confiscated for refusing to eat it). So after a week's worth of wait, here's what you've been waiting for...Enjoy.**

**Oh, and I haven't yet acquired the property of Naruto. Yeah...Still working on it.  
**

* * *

**Dreams, day and night**

I half-woke on Friday morning, wondering if I shouldn't simply grab Sasuke's cell phone and throw it out the window. We were on the fifth floor; there was no way that goddamn thing could survive. I grumbled angrily as I was lifted off of my warm pillow, and heard the teme laugh.

"You want me to turn the alarm off or not?" he asked.

"I want you to turn it off and get back to your rightful place," I snapped tiredly. "That's beneath my head. Since I know you won't, I'll make the noises I want, thank you very much."

I barely heard his answer as he pulled the covers back over my body, tucking his own pillow between my arms. "Sleep," he ordered. "Your parents won't like it if you look like your zombie self when you return."

The next thing I remembered was waking up again, this time alone. As usual, the teme had left a note telling where he was. This time, however, he'd added his car keys, explaining he had to catch up with what he hadn't done yesterday morning, meaning he'd have to stay at the studio the entire day. He advised me to return home alone, assuring me he'd find a suitable taxi to drive him back. Rolling my eyes, I crumpled the note and immediately set off to find the idiot.

"You're stubborn, aren't you?" I remarked as soon as I had found him. He was doing group pictures with other male models, several of which I recognized. Sai was one of them. "I'll wait for you, teme. You can't sleep alone here, remember?"

"You're wasting an entire day," he remarked. "I'll be fine."

"No you won't. Besides, it's almost noon." I held his gaze firmly, letting him know I hadn't the slightest intention of leaving. "And I have things to do after lunch."

His eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Uh..." I hesitated, suddenly realizing that the reason wasn't likely to please him. "Sai said he wanted me to see his paintings."

"And that's supposed to take you the entire afternoon?" he asked, his voice dubious.

I shrugged. "He told me it wouldn't be five minutes' worth. And we'll talk after, I guess." I looked up. "Once he stops flirting, he's cool, you know."

"Hn."

He did not bring the subject up again. I waited for him to finish his morning duties before we set out to lunch.

The meal was pretty quiet; Sai had come to remind me when I was expected, and the teme had been brooding ever since. Ten minutes before one he got to his feet, and I looked up at him.

"They sure are expecting you early," I remarked.

"I could say the same," he retorted. Sighing, he closed his eyes, and I barely had the time to make my own switch before he grabbed my collar and pulled me against his chest.

"Rave," I complained softly. "You know we shouldn't take over while we're here-"

"How am I supposed to stay quiet when things like this happen?" he growled. "I don't want you going near him, Kit."

"I shouldn't have to come out," I remarked. "Naruto gets along with Sai just fine; they won't need me."

He pulled back to stare at me, eyes dark. "Be careful," was his last recommendation before he left.

Returning to my usual self, I found myself shaking my head as he walked away from our table. Why the hell did he have to act so jealous? He couldn't just switch into possessive bastard mode each time Sai came into the conversation, could he? Raven wasn't real. This whole thing was an act, and Sai wasn't supposed to be part of it.

* * *

The pale guy waited for me in front of his own room, leaning casually against the door. "I was afraid you'd forget the exact number," he admitted once I reached him. "There's no telling what stays in that head of yours."

"You ass," I growled. "You're no better than the teme."

He shrugged, opening the door. "If I was, you wouldn't be sleeping with him."

"I don't sleep-" I halted, realizing that in a literal sense, I was about to lie. But Sai didn't need to know I shared the teme's bed.

"You've kissed him," the painter remarked. "On countless occasions. And we don't know what's going on behind closed doors." He smiled sweetly, and a gave up on my need to strangle him, fuming in silence as I entered.

My anger vanished, as brutally as it had come, when the contents of the room met my eyes. I stared.

"I redecorated the place," Sai said. "With Hatake's permission, of course."

The walls were covered with paintings and drawings, though neither contained landscapes. Most of what lay before my eyes were nude paintings, of men and women alike. Some were partly dressed, or partly undressed, whichever way you saw it; shirts and blouses were undone, never hiding what they were supposed to. Legs were always bare, though some women wore skirts, or covered their waist with a cloth.

Somehow, I couldn't feel embarrassed. The place carried the same impression you felt in a museum, where nudity is only viewed as a piece of art. These -all of these- were art. And they were magnificent.

Sai waited wordlessly next to me as I scanned his work. The biggest one was undoubtedly the ink painting hanging directly above the bed. It was the only one where Sai had painted two models, both fully dressed. It took me several seconds before I realized the man on the left was Sai himself; next to him was a blond man, whose smile was soft as he gazed ahead. The two of them held hands.

"Your boyfriend?" I asked, pointing.

He shook his head. "My brother."

I looked again, then admitted that the gesture didn't look that intimate.

"I finished it last week," the painter added. "Thanks to you."

"Me?" I repeated, puzzled.

A nod. "He's dead," Sai said flatly. "He died about six months ago. And ever since his burial I had been unable to remember his face."

"I'm sorry." My voice was soft. I looked up again at the smiling face. "Didn't you have pictures of him?"

He shook his head, but it wasn't to deny. "It was useless if I didn't want to remember." As I frowned, he explained, "To deal with painful thoughts, your subconscious sometimes removes the memories causing them. To make it simple, part of my mind helped me get over my brother's death by trying to convince me he didn't exist."

"But that's-" I didn't finish, knowing my eyes were wide and filled with horror.

Sai shrugged. "It's psychological. I couldn't control it much, at the time. Many people do this, you know. Dealing with problems by pretending they don't exist. What you don't know can't hurt you, right?" I shook my head furiously, and he smiled. "Everyone has memories they'd rather forget. But after I met you, things changed."

I looked at him, wary.

"You looked like him. The first time I saw you on the track. He used to run too, you know. The instant I saw you, I saw him too. His face, as clear as day."

I frowned. "Why did you kiss me, then?"

"You're not his identical clone, if you haven't noticed," he told me, pointing at the blond figure before us. "Though you have the same personality. Besides the fact that you had stirred memories -for which I was grateful- I thought you were pretty cute. So I decided it was worth a shot."

I rolled my eyes, and turned to the other paintings and drawings. "So who are all these people, anyways?"

Sai stepped closer to the one I was looking at. "Models, for the most part. I asked some to pose for me, and others asked me to paint or draw them. They've got either copies or the originals. This young man" -he pointed at the guy, whose flaming red hair immediately caught the eye- "is Gaara Sabaku. I met him in Egypt. Dark type, but very interesting to talk with..." He told me everything he knew about the guy, and gradually the picture became more alive, more meaningful.

Sai introduced me to several other models, telling me about each of their lives as I realized exactly how much his knowledge had influenced his art.

They came from all over the planet. Sai told me about his personal life as well, explaining that he traveled a lot because of his work, much more than the teme. Though he said it was only because Sasuke wasn't an adult yet. As soon as he turned eighteen, he'd be traveling as much as twenty-year-old Sai. Maybe more. Somehow I wasn't sure I liked the idea.

"Your boyfriend's going to kill me if I return you too late," Sai remarked after a couple of hours. "When is he expecting you?"

"He's got tons of work, apparently," I replied, glancing at his alarm clock. It was nearly five. "He said he probably wouldn't eat dinner at the hotel. And stop calling my boyfriend," I added with a sigh. "He's straight and so am I."

"You don't act like it. Offstage," Sai added when I opened my mouth.

That shut me up for several seconds. Of course, he didn't wait for me to formulate a proper answer, and climbed off the bed we had been sitting on, walking to the desk where all of his art material was installed. "Do you want me to draw you?" he asked, taking out a large sketchbook.

I gaped, blinking seven times before finding my voice again. "Me?"

"Who else is there?" Sai inquired. "I thought I might be something you could give your boy- Sasuke," he corrected himself. "I'll let you keep the original piece of course."

"Why would the teme want a nude drawing of me?"

"Not nude." Sai rolled his eyes. "Itachi's conditions apply for me as well. You'll pull the sheets over your privates."

I flushed. "You didn't answer me."

"Would you refuse if he was the one offering it to you? It's still art."

Still beet red, I considered this. If Sasuke did give me a painted version of himself...After all, Sai was an excellent artist. And the teme's body definitely wasn't ugly. Would I say no?

"In case you're wondering, your body is just as admirable as his," Sai let me know. " Not in the same way, but it's very pleasing to the eye; Kakashi showed me your work, and I'm certain he won't discard it because of how you look."

I gave him a stern glare, and he grinned back.

"Please?"

I knew I was going to regret this. I knew it. "How am I supposed to do this thing?" I grumbled resignedly, removing my shirt.

Sai's smiled increased tenfold, and he got to his feet dropping his stuff on the table in order to help. "Let me put something white over the covers first," he said, removing sheets from one of the drawers. "I was thinking you could adopt a samurai pose."

I frowned, and he sighed. "Help me with this." I put my shirt down and helped him place the thin sheets over his bed. "Samurais sat down in a way that allowed them to draw their swords and get up quickly in case of an attack. Like this." He sat down on the floor, poking one of his knee sideways as though he sat cross-legged, while the other pointed up, the according foot placed in front of the opposing foreleg.

"Try it."

Obediently I lowered myself, imitating his posture.

"The sword was usually on the left. So it's the right knee that's pointing up." I switched my legs around, and waited for his approval. The posture didn't feel awkward at all, and Sai finally nodded. "Don't forget to relax," he advised. "You'll be staying like this awhile. Put the sheets on your right side, and cover what's needed, but I want you to keep you left side completely bare; that way you'll look more naked than you actually are."

I nodded, shrugging. "How long will it take?"

"Depends. A couple of hours, at least. More if I mess up."

I gave him a disbelieving look. "You're expecting me to sit still for _hours_?"

"You can stretch," he assured me. "Though please warn me first, and I'm begging you" -he brought his hands together- "remember your position before you do move anything."

I smiled. "I've been posing for to weeks, Sai. I know how to remember the way I stood. Especially with the commercial we did yesterday." I began undoing my pants, and he promptly turned around.

"Remember to tell Sasuke I didn't look while you were getting ready," he said, walking back to his seat. "He'll kill me if I see you naked. And sit in the middle of the bed, please."

Folding my clothes and putting them behind the bed, I then went to the appointed place on all fours, and resumed the 'samurai' pose. I then grabbed the side of the sheets Sai couldn't see, and pulled them over my groin before telling the artist I was ready.

Turning around, Sai smiled as he inspected me. "Shaved?" he asked.

I shook my head darkly. "Waxed. Legs _and_ armpits," I added, lifted my left arm to show him. "They told us it'd stay off longer. For the bed scenes."

Sai nodded knowingly. "That's one of the reasons I respect the women so much; they don't need extreme circumstances to do it."

"The girl who did it told me it didn't hurt as much after a while," I grumbled. "The teme didn't complain at all."

"While we could all hear your screams of agony from the other side of the building," Sai added as he set his material.

"Hey, I'm a guy, dammit! I never do this!"

"You can keep complaining as long as you don't move," the artist informed me, his eyes darkening as he concentrated. "And the traditional, sexist belief is that the girls scream and cry when they hurt."

"Not for this," I protested. "They must have an off button on their nervous system or something."

Sai laughed, and the pencil he held suddenly began scratching the paper. Immediately I tensed, then forced myself to relax when he didn't look up again.

"I thought pencil gives a softer touch to the picture,"he remarked absentmindedly as he worked. "Paint will be too bright, and I only use ink for self-portraits or people like Sasuke. You're too pure."

I kept myself from nodding, but did speak. "The teme wouldn't like it too bright anyways."

"He wouldn't," Sai added. "And I think this is better for you." He looked up again. "Could you keep your arm there?"

I hadn't realized I had placed the right one upon my highest knee. "Sure."

"I'll warn you when I'll start drawing the hand. If you get bored, try thinking of something pleasant."

I remained still, knowing that either movement or speech could break his focus. Instead I let my mind wander, trying to find exactly what 'pleasant' was to me. Since my brain didn't feel up to the task, I switched to someone who could easily find an answer. After all, to Kit, what could be more pleasant thought than the memories I had of Raven?

Our numerous kisses flashed before my eyes, and I found myself smiling. Although he liked to play rough, or cold and dominant, Raven still kissed me like I was the luminous core of his black universe. We hadn't done much beside kiss and...-I blushed slightly- the things Kakashi had made us do, and...My blush deepened as I recalled Monday evening. And the time before we'd gone running. There had been real lust in Raven's eyes. If I hadn't stopped him...

I kept smiling, gently playing with the idea. We had never touched each other intimately. Except for the massage, but we hadn't expected it then. Still, it had been...nice. Unnerving, but nice. Not a memory I regretted.

I wondered if more of these accidental situations would happen. Not before the end of the weekend, surely, but what about after? Paris was the perfect setting...And Rave didn't seem to mind that much. Of course he was afraid of taking things to far. But he knew I'd stop him if I wasn't ready.

Time passed. Sai spoke occasionally, either to warn me to keep a part of my body still, or, on the contrary, to remind me I was allowed to stretch. Other than that he left me to my thoughts, which kept me entertained the entire time. So that I barely sighed when he put his pencil down.

"You were hard," he complained as we both stretched. "I had trouble with your face; the expression you had was subtle, and I had to be careful. And the shading was long, too. Sorry I made you wait. Are you hungry?"

As though answering him, my stomach let out a loud growl, and he grinned.

"We're lucky the restaurant's open all night," he remarked, taking the drawing. "Here you go."

I turned away quickly. "I don't want to see it," I said, shutting my eyes.

His voice was puzzled as he answered. "Why not?"

My cheeks slowly darkened as I answered. "I won't let him see it if I do."

"It's not that bad," Sai protested. "To tell you the truth it's one of my best-"

"I'm still not looking at it before the teme." My voice was firm.

He sighed, and went back to his desk. Still refusing to look, I heard shuffling, and Sai spoke. "I'm putting a plastic sheet over the paper to protect it," he warned. "It'll still look good, don't worry."

"You're the expert," I mumbled.

"You're the owner," he replied, shoving a solid object into my hands. Opening my eyes, I realized it was a rectangular box. "The drawing's scrolled up inside. Try not to leave it in there too long."

* * *

Night had fallen a while ago, and I found out that the empty version of the restaurant wasn't too bad. Now that he wasn't drawing anymore, Sai had resumed the abandoned conversation, adding a multitude of new questions I supposed he'd been asking himself while he worked. The main one being: "Admit it, you've spent the entire time thinking about the sweet Uchiha, haven't you?"

And the rest ensued, as I fought heart and soul to defend myself. I questioned him about his brother, once he assured me the subject didn't bother him, and neither of us noticed the hours slip by, until the conversation switched back to the teme.

"He's every girl's dream," Sai was saying. "Or at least a typical figure. Good-looking, mysterious and cold. For some reason, they love that."

"You're telling me," I grumbled. "It's impossible to flirt with any of them when he's in the vicinity. And even when he isn't it's hard, since I'm a friend of his."

Sai nodded. "And you can tell his dark side isn't a play. I wonder what could have happened during his childhood-"

"His parents died." I said curtly. There was no need to explain how, but I felt Sai deserved this much.

He winced. "Both?"

"Yeah. His brother takes care of him, now. They have enough money, so..." I trailed off, and a sudden thought reached my mind. "Sai, what time is it?"

He looked at his watch. "Late," he answered, eyes widening slightly. "Nearly two."

I swore, and sprang out of my chair. Under the handful of surprised looks, I darted out of the restaurant, followed by the confused artist. I raced back to my rooms, stopping only to make sure the teme's door wasn't open.

Sai caught up to mind me fumbling with my card key. "Hold this," I ordered, handing him my painting before he could open his mouth.

"Naruto, what-" My door jerked open, and I rushed inside, hurried over to the connecting door, guiltily noting it was wide open, and stormed to the other side, fearing the worst.

The toilet was flushing, and I could hear the sink's water run. Sasuke's bed was a mess. The sheets showed obvious signs of thrashing; some of them were on the floor, telling me how he had woken up. Hating myself, I went to the bathroom door, nearly colliding with Sasuke as he opened it.

He was livid. Not his usual paleness, no. His skin was pearl-white, almost matching the bed sheets, frighteningly so. His entire body shook, and I could tell he had trouble standing from the way he clutched the doorknob.

"Sasuke..." I reached out for him, but he shoved my hand away.

"Don't touch me." More than his glare, it was his voice that hit me like a hammer. Hate. Hate was clear in each of his words, even clearer as he pushed me back, brutally. "Get out," he spat. "Now."

I backed away, feeling something was crushing my heart into pieces. And it wasn't just guilt.

Sasuke slammed the connecting door back into my face, locking his side before I thought of stopping him. As soon as I heard the lock click, however, I returned to my senses, and let my entire body collide with the wood.

"Sasuke, let me in, you idiot! You can't lock yourself up after this! Open!" I shouted, not caring if I woke up the entire hotel. "Let me in, teme, you're going to throw your stomach up!" He didn't answer, and I kept slamming my fists against the door. "Open!" I roared. "Open, dammit!"

He didn't answer. He never answered. I didn't see Sai leave, and don't know how long I stood there, banging on the door, hoping it would eventually collapse. Only when I sunk to my knees, swearing and wiping tears off my face did I realize I was alone. Truly, completely alone.

And so was Sasuke.

* * *

**I'm evil. Worse, I'm purposedly evil. Originally the chapter was longer, but I decided to cut the end off and put it in the next chapter to leave you all in agony. *Insane crackling* So endure, my fellow readers.**

**WHY YOU ALL SHOULD REVIEW: Simple. If you don't I'm stopping this fic right here and leave you with this wonderful cliffhanger. I've got three oneshots I either want or have to work on, so I'm telling myself this one can wait. Oneshots get more reviews, so....**

**I understand some of you wait until it's over to give your overall opinion. But I'm begging here. Please? Review?  
**


	7. For the love of friends

**So, my evilness has abandonned my concious mind (though hasn't retired entirely). Here is, for all of you, the much awaited new chapter. Note to my readers, I do not tolerate suicides caused by a failure from authors to update. You have been warned. Oh, and I promise, I won't do the cliffie-hangie-hanger thing again. But the last chapter might take time to come out (since I don't like it), so please be patient. And enjoy.**

**Disclaimer No, no, no, I do not own Naruto.**

**Message to Kursisutaru (your name's difficult to write ^^ ) since I don't have a reply URL: Thanks for all the reviews ! For the name Raven, I also know it from T.T., but I guess boys can take it as well right (In French, raven is a masculine word, so...)? I'm glad I've converted you to Rave/Kit (how many more of you are out there?), though I'm sorry to say they won't be the final couple...Oh, and I think the reason authors are being mean with Sasuke these days is because he's acting like a complete jerk in canon; Masashi Kishimoto is screwing up on this. Anyways, please enjoy!**

**Last Note Before You Read: I wanted to post this for Valentine's day. I think it fits.**

* * *

**For the Love of Friends**

I didn't sleep. I remained slumped against the door the entire night, listening. I heard Sasuke's screams, heard him get up three additional times to throw up. I listened, cursing myself over and over. I hadn't been there to hear him the first time. Now he let me hear the rest. As a punishment I wholeheartedly agreed I deserved.

Morning dawned. I didn't move, and only when the clicking of Sasuke's lock sounded did I weakly get to my feet. He opened the door, allowing me to see the night's work. He was even paler now. Deep shadows lay beneath his eyes and his gaze was completely denied of heat. "I'm leaving," he said icily, and closed the door.

Morosely I went to get my bag, shoving in anything I could call mine. Suddenly my eyes fell on the box Sai had given me the previous evening. I hesitated. But after all, none of this was his fault. And he had worked hard to help me please Sasuke. Doubting the present would ever find its way into the right hands, I dropped it in my bag nonetheless. Just in case.

The journey home was the quietest thing I had ever done with the teme. Neither of us made a sound, and we didn't look at each other throughout the ride. When we finally arrived at my parents' house, he waited for me to climb out and shut the door, leaving as soon as I stepped away from the vehicle.

I slept most of the day. Partly because I was exhausted, partly because it was the only way I'd stop thinking. My parents left me alone once they realized I wasn't in any state to hold a decent conversation, but my friends didn't bother to wait. Ino and Sakura called, reminding me I still had to come to their party, and assuring me they'd already convinced Sasuke. I had been about to tell them I didn't give a damn when something in Sakura's voice told me she wasn't in her best state either.

"What happened?" I asked her. "Did Sasuke say something?"

"_No, no_," she replied honestly. "_It's...complicated. I'd rather not talk about it on the phone._" She paused."_Could I come over?_"

As much as I wanted to, I was too exhausted. "Sakura, if you want me to be in any state to listen, you'll have to wait tomorrow morning. Please," I begged, feeling my voice strain. "I'm not avoiding this, just-"

"_Naruto, what's the matter?_" Her voice lost all gloom, suddenly worried.

I swallowed, but figured that if I didn't tell someone soon, I would never be able to face myself in the mirror again. "It's Sasuke," I began quietly. I told her the events of the previous evening, though I didn't mention the teme's present.

"_Was it bad_?" Sakura asked once I was done.

"Yeah. And he's furious." It was hard to keep my voice under control. "Because I wasn't there. He was counting on me."

"_He'll forgive you_," Sakura said softly. "_He'll see how bad you feel about it. We'll try to reason him tomorrow night," she promised. "Don't worry. You just have to apologize_."

I nodded, unable to withhold a yawn. "I'll try. Call me in the morning?"

"_Yeah_." She laughed softly. "_Get as much sleep as you can_."

"You bet," I replied, yawning again, harder this time. "But feel free to wake me up, tomorrow."

Her chuckle was the last thing I heard before she hung up. I stared at my cellphone thoughtfully. I was back home. Here Kit didn't have his place, didn't even exist. Sasuke was just a friend and a rival. And I loved Sakura.

Somehow, it felt strange. After two weeks of playing gay, could I still love a girl? And why was I feeling sorry that Kit would be leaving for two days? He was fun, I had to admit. Different, and yet his character came naturally; perhaps it was because it did remain a lot like my own...I dove back into my pillows, with one last thought for the teme before I fell asleep.

* * *

People rarely call you at three a.m. to give you good news. But I made sure to make myself clear when I flipped my cellphone open. "You better have a fucking good reason to call else-"

"Sasuke's delirious." Itachi had never sounded so grave. "I've sent a car for you; it should be arriving any minute at your place."

I shot out of bed, not bothering to change as I raced out of my house, jumping into the car that awaited me on the driveway. "How is he?" I asked Itachi.

"Bad." The elder Uchiha's voice was tight. "He's hallucinating and I can't wake him. I've sent for a doctor."

"Why did you call me?" My logical side had just caught up.

"He's been asking for you," was the quiet reply.

* * *

I raced barefoot across the pavement that led to the Uchiha mansion. A butler waited for me at the door, and led me to Sasuke's room.

Screams reached my ears as soon as we stepped on the second floor. Sasuke was still on his bed, thrashing and shaking more violently than I had ever seen him. The lights were lit, his eyes wide open and terrified. Itachi stood next to him, along with several maids, all of them trying desperately to ease his panic. He answered to none, voicing something that took me several seconds to understand. My name.

I didn't hesitate. Rushing forward, I leaped onto the bed and caught his arms, forcing him up. He resisted, but I held him firmly, pressing his overheated body against my chest, my arms snaking around his back. "I'm here, Sasuke, it's over," I whispered, feeling his body tremble in my arms. "I'm right here. I'm not leaving anymore." I tightened my hold, praying with all my might he'd recognize me.

"Naruto?" His voice was hoarse, weak. Numbly his hands reached for my back, then my shoulders, eyes still blind.

" Don't speak," I ordered softly. "It's okay, now, I'm here. I'm right here. I won't leave. I promise." I choked out the last sentence, and hid my face in his neck to hide my tears. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so fucking sorry..." My shoulders shook, but I did my best to cry silently, feeling Sasuke's hold tighten around my back.

Still, he didn't wake up, and eventually I made him lay back on the mattress, silently acknowledging the fact that worry was the only think keeping Itachi from besieging me with questions. Sasuke caught my hand, clutching it tightly, and I lay down next to him, wrapping my other arm around his waist to prove him I was still there. Sighing softly, he pressed my trapped hand against his chest, and fell back into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

"Dream catcher," Itachi repeated thoughtfully as I recounted the entire two weeks. I hadn't told him of Kit and Raven's offstage activities, knowing the teme wouldn't want his older sibling to know about this particular detail. Things were complicated enough. "You're telling me he's become dependent of you?"

The maids had left, shutting down most of the lights in the process, but Itachi had wanted to clear things up before we both went back to sleep. He sat beside the bed, observing me like he'd never really seen me before.

"I'm not sure," I told him. "I think this was more of a reaction to last night. But I'd rather sleep here again tomorrow to make sure it's just that."

Itachi gave a small laugh. "I'm not taking the risk either. Tonight was enough."

I nodded. "You scared me," I admitted.

"I did?" He sounded surprised. Then he sighed. "Well, I was beside myself. Sasuke's never done this at home before, and since he didn't think it useful to warn me he had nightmares..." He shook his head. "What an idiot."

"He's an Uchiha," I remarked, quoting what had been the teme's favorite sentence when we were still in middle school.

"Uchihas are idiots," Itachi growled. He then sighed, and added, "But don't worry." A smirk spread on his face, and his voice resumed its usual tone. "Hopefully you won't hear me speak like that again." He ruffled my hair, and looked at his sleeping sibling. "So have you two kissed yet?"

Instantly, I flushed. "_What_?"

"You'll wake him up," he remarked, still grinning. "From what you've told me, he seems pretty jealous of this Sai. And that little display you did five minutes ago has triggered my imagination" -my cheeks darkened even more- "so I've started to wonder." He paused, smirking, then added more seriously, "You say you were with Sai the entire evening?"

I nodded, and he shook his head, placing a pale hand on his brother's face.

"Sasuke..." he said, his voice sadly amused. "I wondered what he imagined you two did."

Just when I thought my face couldn't get redder. "We didn't do anything!"

"Nothing worth reprimanding, I admit. Although having one guy draw you nude isn't what I usually recommend when you're interested in another."

"The drawing was for him." Why did my mouth work on its own? Didn't it realize the considerable damage it made?

Itachi looked up. "And then you tell me you're not interested in my brother?"

"It had a...an artful purpose," I protested weakly. "Sai only draws nudes. He told me it was one of his best."

"Did you see it?"

I shook my head. "I'll let the teme look at it first."

The elder Uchiha smiled, and finally got to his feet. "You should get some sleep," he advised. "I'll call your parents in the morning to tell them you haven't run away or anything."

I nodded my thanks, and lay back against the mattress. As soon as I had settled, Sasuke inched towards my body, and I decided it wouldn't kill us to cuddle a little. After all, we'd wake up in some embarrassing position no matter what the original one was. And I had a feeling the teme needed the proximity just as much as I did.

* * *

I figured my cellphone was happy to be home. I mean, it had hardly stopped ringing ever since we'd arrived. I sprung up as soon as the melody rang inside the room, trying not to wake the teme as I lowered myself back on his chest and flipped the object open. I knew I had forgotten something.

"Sakura?" I asked quietly.

"_Naruto, where are you? Your house is empty!_"

"My parents are gone?" I asked, puzzled. "But it's Sunday!"

She sighed. "_Your dad goes to his political meetings on Sundays," _she reminded me._ "And your mom had to visit mine. How come I know this and you don't?_"

"Hey, I just woke up here. And I'm in no state to remember that kind of thing."

There was a pause. "_Where are you?_" Sakura asked again.

"At the teme's." I suddenly felt a slight shifting beneath me, and mentally cursed.

"_What are you doing there?_"

"Nightmares again," I supplied. "Scared his brother sick; they couldn't wake him" -I felt her cringe on the other side of the line- "But he's fine now."

"_Thank God,_" she sighed. "_Do you think he'll mind if we come over?_"

"Of course not," I assured. Then frowned. "We?"

"_Ino's with me._" Sakura's voice had suddenly become a lot quieter. "_I'll explain once we get there._" With that, she hung up.

At the same moment, the teme decided to wake completely, and straightened, forcing me off him.

"What are you doing here?" And he didn't look too pleased to see me, either.

I gave him a blank look. "You don't remember?"

His eyes shadowed, and I guessed that he did, at least in part.

"I don't want to think about it."

"Itachi called me," I explained. When his frown deepened, I sighed, and got off the bed.

Instantly, his eyes snapped up at me. "Where are you going?"

I shrugged. "I thought you wanted me to leave."

"I didn't say that," he snapped.

"You don't look that happy to see me," I retorted.

He remained silent, and I turned back towards him. "I'm sorry for Friday night," I told him.

"I don't care about Friday night."

"We didn't do anything."

"That's not my problem."

"Sai's just a friend."

"Obviously." This time sarcasm was clear in the teme's voice.

I placed myself in front of him, making sure he could see that I felt hurt. "You don't believe me, do you?"

He looked up at me. "You're hard to believe."

I leaped at him. Weakened by the two previous nights, the teme was no match for me, and I pinned him down against the mattress. I observed his heated glare for several seconds, then leaned down and kissed him.

I knew he had already switched. It was Kit's boyfriend that felt betrayed, after all. And somehow Raven had slowly taken over the real Sasuke. He struggled a little, never one to willingly let me take the lead, then finally seemed to decide it didn't matter, and pulled me against his chest.

I made sure I bruised his lips hard enough to make my point before pulling up a little and glared at him.

"There isn't anyone but you," I growled angrily. "Can't you get that? There isn't, there never will be anyone else. Never. Do I have to rip my skin off again to prove it?" When he said nothing, I sighed and pushed myself off, heading towards the bathroom connected to his room.

A hand caught mine just before I reached the door. "Don't." Raven's voice was quiet as he trapped my waist with his arms. "Don't hurt yourself for me."

Perhaps things would have edged on to one of those accidental situations I had been fantasizing about. Perhaps Raven felt like he needed it, and perhaps I wasn't so different. But whatever might have happened was interrupted as the hall door opened, allowing Sakura and Ino to enter. Of course they froze, and I flushed nearly as hard as they, Kit shying away from the unknown gender.

Sasuke merely ignored the two girls and let go of me, heading to one of his drawers, from which he removed articles of clothing, and threw me half. Seeing a fresh pair of boxers was included, I hurried to the bathroom, showered quickly and changed, soon returning to my three silent friends.

Sasuke walked past me as I entered the room, whispering "It's you they want to talk to." before closing the door again.

The girls had barely moved. Both looked tired, and nervous. I promptly dropped myself on Sasuke's bed, beckoning them over. "There's enough room for the three of us," I assured, handing them an encouraging smile.

Hesitantly they joined me, and I frowned, silently waiting for them to settle.

"What happened to you?" I finally asked, realizing they'd need help to spit things out.

Ino was the first to talk. "You know it's the first time you both left?" she asked.

I shook my head, not seeing what she meant.

"When Sasuke left for his model jobs, you usually hung out with us," she explained.

I nodded slowly.

"So either he was here and we were both paying attention to him, either he wasn't, and we had fun with you."

I still had no idea of where this was going, so Sakura decided to help. "When neither of you were there, we had to stay with each other," she offered.

This time I gulped. Ino's and Sakura's relationship was, of course, very akin to the teme's and mine; a constant rivalry. And if no one had been there to stop them... "Was it bad?" I asked.

Sakura blinked. "No, not at all. Actually, it went a lot better than expected." She gave a small smile to Ino, and the blonde grinned back. I kept frowning, getting more puzzled by the minute. But instead of adding anything, they simply looked at each other, and under my widening eyes, Sakura's hand reached for Ino's, and the two girls intertwined their fingers in a manner that could not have been taken in any other way than what it meant.

I backed up. "Sakura, you-"

She sent me a pleading look. "We thought you would understand! After what you've been doing with Sasuke..."

That was so not the problem. I felt my voice choke as the next words came out. "But you- But I-" A wound that had never truly healed, because I had dared to hope, was now devouring me from the inside. This was it. The moment where I had to admit Sakura Haruno could never love me. Any guy, for that matter.

"Why is the dobe crying?" The bathroom door was open, and Sasuke's bored tone did not match the frown on his face.

"I'm not crying," I snapped at him.

"You look like you're about to." He approached the bed, and one quick glance at the locked hands was enough for him to deduce everything. "So you've finally come to your senses," he remarked, smirking slightly. I had yet to guess exactly what was so funny. But they smiled back at him.

"We decided to give up on you, seeing" -Sakura hesitated- "Seeing there was a risk you might like girls anymore after this. And we realized how we felt for each other."

"What about him?" he asked, jerking his head in my direction.

It was Sakura's turn to take a pained expression. "Naruto, I had already told you I only liked you as a friend. I'm sorry, but this is how I feel. Please understand."

I understood. But it still hurt like hell. I had loved Sakura since the first day I had met her, and every time she'd turned me down, some part of me kept believing I'd eventually manage to please her. And now things were definitely over.

"So that means I can keep him to myself, right?" A pale arm caught me into a headlock, and the two girls stared.

"He's joking," I supplied with a low growl. "Rave, get the hell out of the teme."

Ino sighed. "We were wondering if you had really fallen in love," she remarked, caressing her girlfriend's hand absentmindedly. "But you even got separate names for your characters, right?" She and Sakura smiled in unison.

I turned my head, hiding my eyes in the crook of Sasuke's elbow.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, worried.

"I need a moment." I would not cry. I was not about to show weakness in front of two girls -one of which I had loved- and the teme. I felt my lips tighten to the point I thought they would bruise, but didn't make a single sound. At the same time, a cool hand reached for the side of my face and started playing with my earlobe.

"You didn't tell anyone else?" Sasuke asked, distracting them from me.

Ino must have shaken her head. "We wanted to tell some people at the party, but..."

"Your fanclub will be there," Sakura finished, making us both wince. Of course. Those girls weren't people, they were leeches. They sucked on every inch of Sasuke first, anything related to him second, and any information out of the ordinary third. So it wasn't entirely false to say Ino and Sakura had hit the jackpot (think of it this way; they were giving up on -and therefore betraying- Sasuke).

"What are you going to do?" the teme asked. "People will eventually become aware of this."

I slowly straightened, and Sasuke's arm slid down, staying loosely wrapped around my neck. "We'll help you avoid drawing attention at the party," I said quietly. "But if you want us to be there when you tell people, it's going to be tonight of two weeks from now."

Sakura nodded, and I noticed tears had formed in her eyes. She threw herself into my arms. "Naruto, I'm so sorry!" she cried, hugging me in an almost desperate manner.

"Don't be." My voice was light, and I forced myself to look at her straight into the eye. "Don't be sorry to be with someone you love. Don't ever regret the choices you've made."

"I didn't want to hurt you," she said softly.

"It's my fault. You warned me, and I didn't listen." I attempted a smile. "I'll get over it. Now hurry back to Ino before she gets jealous and murders me."

She gave me a watery chuckle and released me. I noticed that Sasuke still hadn't let go of me. So did Ino.

"You're really going out, are you?"

Using the question as a distraction from more painful thoughts, I laughed, and wrapped my arm around Sasuke's bare chest. "Isn't it obvious?" I asked, my voice merry. Then I became serious again, and let go of the teme. "Ino, it's just an act." I felt the arm slip off my shoulders as I spoke, and the blonde in front of me nodded. I turned to Sasuke. "You could get dressed, you know."

He had only bothered to pull on his jeans. The same low-waist pair he'd worn last Tuesday, for our Shirts-a-tossing session. Technically, he didn't look any different from that particular day; his hips were just as exposed.

What astounded me was the girls' complete lack of reaction; normally they would have squealed as soon as the teme had come into view, and yet now they merely eyed him appreciatively, with the same interest one would give a piece of art.

That gave me an idea. "Wear these tonight," I told him. "With an open shirt. The fanclub won't be able to take their eyes off you."

* * *

And the teme actually obeyed. He even let Ino and Sakura put some finishing touches -like the thin silver chain that now shimmered against his throat-, organize and announce his arrival.

And boy did it work. You'd have though an international star was coming from the commotion he created. Some girls actually fainted when he stepped out of his car, and I could only force myself not to roll my eyes as dozens of cellphones came out to take pictures. My low sigh was imitated by the teme. This was going to be a long night.

The only advantage I had on him was that I wasn't the center of attention. That meant I could talk to people without being constantly disrupted. My party companions were Kiba and Hinata, whom had also discovered their love for each other while the teme and I were away. I felt secretly relieved upon hearing the news, glad to see some people had decided to stay straight.

Trouble began around ten o'clock. Both Sasuke and I kept an eye on our two ladies as the evening went by, as well as the fanclub. Well, truthfully, the teme took care of the latter alone, since he did have a strategic proximity with the enemy, and we tried to make sure no one noticed that Sakura and Ino disappeared from time to time.

But at some point Sasuke extracted himself from his admirers' grasp and pulled me away from Kiba's jokes. "I've got five of them missing," he said quietly. "Do you know where the girls are?"

"They went outside a few minutes ago," I replied, heading towards the porch. The teme stopped me.

"Think before you act, idiot," he told me in a low voice. "If they've been spotted, what do you plan to do?"

I shrugged. "Butt in. I'll stop them." Unfamiliar female voices could be heard from the exterior. I made for the door again, but Sasuke was faster. He stepped on the threshold, and turned back to me after having glanced on both sides. He held the door for me, and I realized he'd only done so to speak without anyone noticing. "Slip into character," he whispered, and crushed his lips against mine.

The world froze. Literally. Absolute silence reigned, and I forced myself to focus on the kiss as the first fangirls came to their senses. Squeals immediately attacked our ears, and both cameras and cellphones were taken out, blinding us a split-second later.

Kisses couldn't take too long. Our manager had mentioned viewers getting bored after several seconds, so Raven drew back, and buried his face into my neck, whispering in a barely audible manner. "They're behind you. We need to give them time." His lips, of course, being conveniently hidden by the pale arms trapping my neck. I sighed my acceptance and immediately attacked his collarbone.

My move caused him to throw his head back, and I swear some of the girls were fainting all over again. It wasn't just any day Sasuke Uchiha indicated something felt good.

I was fairly certain everyone's attention was on us by now. Everyone save the two female individuals whose discreet gettaway we were permitting; something told me the teme would never have arched like that if he hadn't needed a clear view of what was going on behind me. A soft pressing on my back told me Ino and Sakura were gone. I drummed my fingers on his waist -my fingers had gotten past his shirt- telling him to wait. The girls needed time to reach someplace in which they could lock themselves up.

I pulled back once I deemed they were securely hidden, and forced a smile upon my lips. Sasuke looked at me with what could have easily been taken for lust, though personally I read 'now you get us out of this'.

I gave the teme a playful shove. "I told you we'd pull it!" My voice was normal. Wow. "They all have pictures to prove it, too!" Turning to the female audience as Sasuke only hn'ed, I asked, "So did you like it? Imported straight from Chidori Inc.!"

Most of the girls rushed forward. I avoided the live tsunami by stepping away from the teme, letting him deal with his side of the mess. And fell right onto Kiba, Hinata, Shikamaru and Neji. Shit.

"Impressive diversion," Shika remarked in his usual drawl. "And people don't believe me when I say women are troublesome."

Neji's quiet smile was as intimidating as always. "Nice acting," he remarked. "I see you haven't forgotten your old skills." Neji had been in the theater club with me. "Though how you managed to convince the Uchiha to play along, I wonder..."

"He's the one that started this," I snapped. "He wanted to draw attention away from-" I stopped, biting my lip.

"We'll wait for them to explain," Shika supplied, and the Hyuuga siblings nodded.

"What diversion?" I wasn't surprised that dog-breath hadn't been either aware or told about anything. Before any of us could answer, he caught my arm and dragged me away from the group, and out of the house.

He took me all the way down to the street, shoved me into his car, and climbed on the other side.

"What the hell just happened?" He was angrier than I'd ever seen him. His glare was hostile, as though he had just discovered my true nature.

"It's a long story," I sighed.

"A long story?" His voice cracked. "Naruto, I've known you since the beginning of high school, and ever since we've started hanging out together you've been chasing after skirts! What about Sakura?"

"Sakura doesn't love me," I grumbled.

"That never stopped you before."

"Except she liked Sasuke."

Kiba blinked. "And?"

"She doesn't anymore. Neither does Ino."

"Sorry dude, but I seriously doubt that. And even if it was the case, why would it matter?"

"Didn't you notice they weren't on the front line of the fanclub tonight?" I finally snapped. "Didn't you notice we barely saw them, even though they're the ones who threw this party? Who do you think we were distracting everyone from?"

Kiba blinked again, then put two and two together. "Sakura and Ino?" he asked, thunderstruck.

I nodded.

"But...But what about you?"

I made a silent motion of throwing something out the window. "It's over."

"Man, I'm sorry." Kiba leaned back on his seat. The news hurt him nearly as much as me; I'd told him everything about my undying passion for the pink-haired girl. He had supported me throughout the years, cheering me up and motivating me each time she turned me down, certain I'd win her heart someday. "And you're not alone, either."

I turned. "Huh?"

"There was Lee," he reminded me. "Who also loved Sakura. And-" he swore, making me jump. "What about Shika?"

I echoed him, realizing I had forgotten the lazy genius spent most of his time daydreaming about the blonde girl. He was hurting too, and I hadn't even noticed.

I started opening the door, but Kiba stopped me. "We're not done," he growled. "Shika can take care of himself; the last thing he'll want is pity."

I agreed to that, and warily returned to my previous position.

Kiba's words had trouble coming out. "Were you acting back there?" he finally asked.

"Did you listen?" I said, rolling my eyes. "I thought you had good ears."

"I heard what you said, and what Neji said. I still want an answer."

"Of course it was acting, dog-breath," I sighed angrily. "Do you think I enjoy kissing the teme?"

He turned away from me. "You looked like it," he replied, his voice quiet.

"It's just that I'm good." Inside, my stomach had twisted abruptly. "I kissed Ino last year too, remember? For Romeo and Juliet. And you see? No sequels."

"There are," Kiba denied, momentarily recovering his humor. "You definitely advised her against men." Then he was serious again. "You didn't touch her like that."

"We didn't do anything," I said carelessly.

Kiba glared. "Shit, Naruto, that wasn't _nothing_! Your hands were under his fucking shirt! You were playing with-" He shut up, unable to continue.

"It's part of what we learned," I stammered, knowing I was starting to blush. "We had to look...intimate, for some of the pictures."

"You've posed naked?"

I shook my head. "Itachi won't allow it."

"Would you?"

I hesitated a second too long, reason being I almost had. Sai's drawing was probable past the limits set by the elder Uchiha. Though he hadn't commented upon it. "Not...not with the teme," I finally said. "But I've been drawn."

Kiba stared, then finally shook his head. "That's your problem, then. But what did you do with Uchiha?"

My blush deepened. "Don't say it like that," I grumbled. "It sounds perverted."

"Perverted?" he repeated, incredulous. "You make out with that guy in front of everyone and I'm perverted?"

"I told you it was an act! We didn't mean it!"

"Maybe not this time," he said darkly. "Have you kissed him before? I'm sure they don't make you kiss like that onstage."

I glared at him. "That's none of your business."

"Really?" His voice dripped with sarcasm. "Since when do your love affairs not concern me? Did you ever hide anything from me before?"

I needed to kill that guy. "They are not love affairs!" I roared. "It's only an act!"

There was a pause. In the face of the sudden outburst, Kiba said nothing, and I waited, fuming, for his next verbal attack. When it didn't come, I decided to go on offense.

"What if I said I was?"

He blinked again. "What?"

"In love with the teme. What if I said I just realized I liked guys better, and didn't give a damn about people's opinion? What would you say?"

He stared at me, unable to answer.

I narrowed my eyes. "Are you homophobic?"

"Are you in love with him?" he shot back.

Dead end. Because the answers to both questions were both clear; of course dog-breath wasn't a homophobe. And of course I didn't love the teme. So why did I feel like there was a catch for both of us?

"It's just weird, considering you as gay," Kiba finally admitted, scratching his head. "I mean, it didn't look _wrong_ back there. Just...unusual." He threw me an unsure look. "I mean, if you want to try guys, Uchiha's obviously your best choice; you two look great togethe-"

"You only saw us kiss once!" I protested. "How can you say that, all the girls were in the front; you can't have gotten a proper look!"

It was his turn to flush. "Hinata showed me some pictures," he admitted grudgingly. "They're not all horrible, from an artistical point of view."

"They're already published?" I asked, my voice strangled. "We finished two days ago!"

He shrugged. "Time's money." Then frowned. "You said I only saw you 'kiss once'?" he repeated slowly. "That means you've done it before?"

I became tomato red, and didn't have the courage to deny. Followed a very long pause.

Kiba finally sighed. "I'll get used to it," he said. "I'll admit you're not the worst couple on the planet. Complementary or whatever. So if that's the path you choose, then I'm right here to help. Just remember that I'm straight, and already taken." He gave me a sheepish grin. "Still buds then?"

I grinned and nodded, smacking his hand with mine, and followed him out of the car. We walked back to the crowded house, and just before we went back inside I realized something.

"It was hypothetical," I told the dog boy. "I never said I liked the teme."

He grinned back at me. "Perhaps," he said with a shrug. "But you took your time before remembering to deny it."

* * *

**Anyone noticed Naru switched back in the middle of the making out scene? Well, in any case, now you know. Maybe I should switch the title's name to Denial, seeing how little Naru's behaving...**

**Um...Bit of swearing, sorry, but the characters were stressed, and it's still a safe way to let some steam out, so...**

**Oh, and Sakura-haters, please don't share your views with me. The Sakura in canon is what Kishimoto makes her, and he is, sadly, quite sexist. As an author I believe it's my duty to straighten her character out.**

**Apart from that, reviews remain hugely appreciated.  
**


	8. Like the French Weather

**I'm starting to see what authors mean when they say reality's a pain. It's been chasing me for the past few days, had to take care of it, sorry. So, second to last chapter of this fic (unless you count the epilogue ^^ ), and our little lovebirds have finally reached France! Yipee, Winter's almost over. Few notes: **

**Kai, thanks for all your reviews, I'm glad to see that despite you stubborn refusal to create an account (or log in), you still take time to tell me how you liked each chapter . I hope you like this one.**

**I have to thank Calamus for introducing me to Y!Gal; you have no idea how happy I am about this. Thanks onee-chan!**

**Still don't own Naruto.  
**

* * *

**Like the French weather**

"Teme! When are we going to see the Eiffel Tower?"

Sasuke gave me a look that clearly stated he'd strangle me if I asked again. We had just walked out of Luxembourg station, from where we could see both the Pantheon and the black-and-gold gates of the Luxembourg gardens, and there was absolutely no sign of the metallic tower.

He led me through the gates, across a wide, sandy alley bordered by trees, to the huge open space situated several hundred meters away. There, I saw grass, a large fountain -no, scratch that, a 60-feet-in-diameter-very-large-fountain- and loads and loads of metallic chairs surrounding it. With only slightly less people.

I swore. "What are they doing here?"

Sasuke let out an audible sigh. "Tourists are, just as we are, visiting," he began, speaking in an exaggeratedly slow voice. "Parisians are enjoying the peace. Or trying to."

It was true you could barely tell we were in the middle of the French capital. The surrounding trees hid all buildings from view, except one. "What's that tower over there?" I asked, pointing towards the imposing black edifice that poked out -quite visibly- from behind the trees.

"Montparnasse Tower," the teme answered. Drawing my attention to my right, he pointed at a building whose cream colored stone walls and architecture reminded me of the Pantheon. "Guess what that is," he asked me with a smirk.

I glared at him. It was obvious the gardens had been built around this building, and also obvious that there had been clues to Sasuke's question if I had paid attention. As it was, I could only stare at the stone walls, hoping the name would somehow be carved upon their surface.

The teme let me ponder for an additional ten seconds before I sighed and turned towards him in defeat.

"The Senate," he answered. "It was written below the name of the station, dobe."

"And why should I bother to know where the Senate is in France?" I growled. Sasuke didn't reply, and I glared back at the building. "Some people have a good life," was my next comment, imagining from the outside what the inside might look like. Sasuke nodded silently and advanced towards the pond.

Kids stood on its edge, holding long sticks that pushed or pulled the wooden sailboats floating on the water's surface. Each boat was roughly two feet long, with real sails, and moved mostly thanks to the wind (the children helped from time to time). I smiled, wishing I was small enough to ask one without getting stared at.

*

We'd arrived in Paris a week ago. Four hours to Washington, two hours to change flights, eight hours to cross the Atlantic ocean, two hours to get out of the airport and to our hotel (traffic in Paris was harsh in the morning), and had taken the rest of that Tuesday to catch up on the local clock.

Wednesday we had started working again, although in a much less organized fashion than before. We were forced to travel from one side of the capital to another, since Kakashi had accepted to lend us to small companies and rich individuals -mostly amateur photographers, though there were a few professionals- and the themed picturing would be starting next week. Right now, the teme and I were enjoying a well-deserved day off. God bless Sundays.

The first thing Sasuke had done once we had recovered from the lost sleep was to initiate me to French food, assuring me with an unusual good mood that I would like it. By Thursday, I was certain I had seen everything. There was the _saucisson _(salty dry sausages), the traditional _baguettes_ and everything you could find in a French bakery (we'd stayed half an hour in there), the wines (though those I had only seen, not tasted), the cheese, of course, and something I had actually discovered when he'd taken me -don't ask me why- to the supermarket.

"Holy Mother of Christ!" Don't look at me, there was matter to gape at. Two aisles. Two _entire _aisles, filled on both sides to the very limit, with nothing but yoghurts. There were hundreds of varieties; chocolate, with or without some kind of whipped cream, dark, milk or white. Coffee, caramel, vanilla, mixes, nut, brownie were also possible flavors. Then you had the fruit yoghurts, which also managed to come in various aspects. Some were meant for kids (taking up a quarter-aisle), some with actual fruit bits inside, many without. And finally nature yoghurts, which somehow weren't single typed either -whether you liked it creamy or whipped-like- and something called _fromage blanc_, which Sasuke translated as white cheese, and was supposedly thicker than its neighbors.

The teme had let me stay inside one of the aisles, and had gone to buy stuff he'd refused to show me on our way out. I could tell it was food, but it had been wrapped inside brown paper, and the shapes were too basic to let me figure what they were.

*

"Sasuke?" I had only stopped next to the pond for a few seconds and already the teme was out of sight. Knowing he couldn't be too far, I glanced around. There.

Vaguely wondering why he had gone back, I raced towards the raven-haired figure. But as he reached the top of the stone stairs separating the pond area from the tree alley, he seemed to notice something in front of him and darted off without looking back.

Knowing he'd murder me if I called after him, I accelerated, and only caught up once he'd passed the golden gates. Just in time to see a young woman throw herself into his arms. It wasn't him.

Biting my lip, I turned around, doing my best to keep my increasing panic away from my mind. I went back towards the courtyard, only to realize the stairs were blocked by a large group of German tourists. Realizing there was no way I'd get through the group, I swore, and looked around, immediately spotting another staircase on my right, right next to the stone building -the Senate, part of me supplied dryly- and raced towards it. Skipping two out of three steps, I rushed back to the pond, stopping to get a better view.

As my eyes scanned the crowd, I did my best to remember what the teme had been wearing. A dark blue shirt -instead of black- because it had been bright and sunny this morning. Although I found this entire country freezing. Dark pants, a sling back, containing a map of Paris (good idea), a water bottle (better idea) and an umbrella (what the hell?). Naturally I had asked him why, and he'd only answered, "Don't judge the day's weather by looking at the sky. We're in France, and it's spring." The last part of the sentence had seemed meaningful, but Sasuke hadn't bothered to develop.

And he was nowhere in sight. Swearing angrily, I crossed the courtyard, going to the opposite staircase, certain the teme simply hadn't bothered to wait for me. And then I stopped. There wasn't a main path like before. And this side seemed a lot bigger than the other one; I could see weird swings in the distance, on my right. A puppet house was close by, and on my left was a group of men and women practicing tai chi chuan. Ponies walked placidly along one of the smaller web-like alleys, and there was still no sign of the teme.

I wandered, following my instinct, eyes snapping from one human to the other. There were tennis courts, grass areas you could sit on, multiple fountains and candy shop, and absolutely no Sasuke. Ten minutes later, I finally stopped in front of an impressive game area, filled with laughing kids -and a miniature rope version of the Eiffel Tower they were climbing on- and decided to make things clear. I had lost the teme. I had only a vague idea of where I was, and how to get back to where we had been separated. Worse, there was no way I'd ever find my way back to our hotel. And the bastard had my cellphone in his bag.

I felt my heartbeat accelerate. Any second I would start panicking, and that was definitely not a good thing.

_Think!_ I ordered myself. _What would he do?_

Hopefully, Sasuke would go looking for me, aware of how nervous I became when I was alone. And if he didn't find me, what would he do? Try to figure where I'd go next. And knowing me, he knew I'd go-

My eyes rose up again, fixing the thick, blue rope that formed the tower in front of me. I'd go find the real thing. I turned brusquely. I needed to find American tourists. Fast. This time opening my ears wide, I quickly found what I was looking for; a family with two kids, speaking my native tongue with an ease that couldn't be faked.

I approached them cautiously. "Excuse me..."

The father turned, and immediately grinned. "You don't know how nice it feels to hear this," he said. " Haven't heard any stranger speak correct English to me in weeks. Can we help you?"

I nodded. "Would you know how I could go to the Eiffel Tower without getting lost?"

He seemed thoughtful. "You don't plan on using the metro, do you?"

I shook my head vigorously. No way I was going down there alone. That maze-like underground was good for the natives.

"Then I advise you to follow the Seine. Not the shortest way, but it'll be easier." He took out a map and showed me the river that split the capital in two. "We're on the southern bank," he said, pointing at the green patch that were the Luxembourg gardens. "The Tower's here" -he pointed to the left side of the map- "right on the river's edge. You don't need to cross, and you won't miss it." He then explained how to get to the river itself, and then folded his map. "You want this?" he asked.

I shook my head, thanking him for his time. And then I trotted off. His directions proved to be fairly simple to follow; I exited the gardens without a problem, crossed several streets and soon reached the Seine. As soon as the water was in sight, I turned left and ran.

Circulation rules abruptly vanished from my mind as I raced down the river's side. I couldn't tell when I left the sidewalk to cross a street, although it might have been good to count the bridges. The only thing I was focused on was the Tower. It soon appeared, although at a respectable distance, and I accelerated, at least reassured by the fact that I knew I was going the right way.

I ran like the devil was chasing me, ignoring the numerous honking cars and gaping people. Nothing, not even the densest crowds were an obstacle anymore, and the fire slowly growing in my legs was thoroughly ignored. I ran and ran, and could almost hear the teme's voice inside my head. "_Paris isn't like London or New York, dobe. Everything's in walking distance. It's only a matter of time._"

With my mind so occupied, I barely noticed the light dim. But the change was so sudden, so unexpected -it was still the early afternoon- that I did glance up. And hardly had time to stare at the pitch black clouds hanging ominously above me that the first beads of hail slammed upon my face.

Yes, _hail_. I heard surprised yelps and shouts as people rushed to get undercover. The hail stones weren't that impressive in size; what amazed me was that it had been bright and sunny not five minutes ago. I half-smiled when I noticed it had become very easy to distinguish surprised tourists from the more annoyed, less impressed Parisians. The hail stopped almost as quickly as it had started, and I kept running, feeling my shoes squeak slightly against the ice.

The trip took me half an hour. Being on my school's track team, and competing with the teme had gotten me used to harsh running conditions. But I had never done anything like this.

First, I was not running at my normal speed. Usually I was careful not to waste too much energy, so I could put it all in the end; not here. I had been nearly sprinting since the beginning, and barely slowed. My legs had complained, been ruthlessly ignored, and I knew my determination was enough to keep me going.

Secondly, there was the weather. Not to mention the terrain, because seriously, paved streets are pretty and all, but they're goddamn fucking impossible to walk on, much less run. Thankfully I didn't come across too much of those. No, the weather was something I knew I wouldn't forget. It had hailed and rained all along my journey. I was either soaked and freezing or too hot, as soon as the sun decided to show its face. The water and ice made everything slippery, and it was a constant battle not to lose my footing.

But my efforts eventually paid, and the Eiffel Tower finally stood before me. I didn't stop, feeling slightly oppressed by the immensity of the thing. Sure, we had bigger towers back home. But the were all surrounded by tall buildings, which didn't make them stand out as much. Here, the metallic construction had been given space to breathe; surrounded by rectangular patches of grass and a few young trees, it towered over its surroundings like nothing I had ever seen.

Sadly, the circumstances didn't allow me to examine it much further. I raced to one of its feet, and swore for what seemed like the tenth time in the past hour. You had to pay to get access to the elevators. And the line -all four lines, in fact- were several hundred feet long. But I found my solution before slowing down. Nothing had been mentioned about the stairs.

I found them easily, and rushed onto the metallic steps. I didn't count, despite the fact that I had sworn Sasuke I would do so. It was just impossible to keep the count and force my legs to move at the same time.

I sighed softly as I reached the first floor, but hardly slowed; this floor was a square with an open space in the middle -Sasuke had mentioned a guy doing bungee-jumping from there and getting arrested- and several gift shops. Knowing the teme wouldn't wait for me in the latter, I did two complete loops, assuring myself he wasn't there, before heading back to the next staircase.

I grinned weakly as my legs throbbed, warning me they wouldn't hold much longer. The scene in which I had been chased be the teme because of that single phone call that had started everything was back in my mind, or, more precisely, the bit containing the stairs. The teme hated stairs. I wondered how he would have fared in those.

I reached the second floor with shaking legs. Still I trotted down the smaller square in a determined fashion. But found nothing. This time, panic threatened to break out.

There were no accessible stairs to the last floor, and the elevator was reserved to people who had already reserved a ticket at ground level. Slowly, I headed toward the edge of the square, and looked down. Someone had made sure no one would commit suicide from here, linking the floor and ceiling with a thin but solid grid.

I wasn't intending to do anything, though. I just wanted to see if the teme was down there. Why hadn't I looked? Being the lazy asshole he was, he had probable waited for the elevator, and was still waiting in line- Or maybe he hadn't decided to come up here at all-

Growing more and more certain that I had climbed all this for nothing, I barely felt the slight tapping on my shoulder. "Excuse me...Mr. Uzumaki?"

It was a female voice. I turned to face a young woman dressed in what I suspected was a waitress' attire. Slowly I nodded. She smiled, and continued in perfect English, "I was sent here to get you. Mr. Uchiha is waiting for you at the restaurant."

Part of me refused to be relieved just yet. I nodded stiffly, and followed the girl to the elevator. Pacing impatiently during our ascension, I barely heard either my protesting legs or her comments.

"He asked for someone who was fluent in English," she explained. "He sent several of us down to wait. But you didn't stop for the others."

"I was in a hurry," I mumbled in apology.

"He warned us you might be panicked," she replied with a small smile. "He seemed truly worried..."

I gave her a dubious look. Sasuke Uchiha was never worried. In or out of act. I was going to get my ass kicked as soon as he saw me, have him scold me the entire way home, maybe get ignored for the reminder of the day, and that would be the end of the story. Why would worry have anything to do with it?

The elevator doors opened, and I spotted him immediately, seated at the table directly facing us. My shoulders dropped. He was there. I had found him. He got to his feet as soon as he saw me, and stepped swiftly towards us. Thanking the girl politely, he grabbed my wrist, and tugged me all the way to the men's bathroom. There, he closed the door and locked it.

I said nothing, fearing the fulminating look on his face. He hadn't let go of my wrist, and his grip was so tight I had trouble keeping my face impassive.

"You idiot," he finally growled. "You complete fool, you could have-" He didn't finish his sentence, refusing to let me know what he had imagined. I felt my eyes humidify.

"I'm sorry," I articulated weakly.

It was obvious that Sasuke was having trouble keeping his temper under control. "The most logical thing to do once you didn't find me was to go back to the pond and wait there," he said through gritted teeth. "Not go someplace we hadn't visited yet."

I fought to keep my lower lip from trembling. It had to be easier than for my legs. "I thought you hadn't waited for me."

Shock was plain on his face. Then his expression hardened, just like it always did when the teme wanted to keep his emotions at bay. Biting his lip, he jerked his head away. "Did you honestly think" -he spoke slowly, making sure he had complete control over his voice- "that I would willingly leave you out of my sight in a city you've only been living in for a week?" So it wasn't anger he'd been trying to hide. It was pain.

My lower lip was definitely trembling now. "I was scared..." My voice choked, and the first tear made it's way down my cheek. Closing my eyes in shame, I didn't notice him reach out. I did feel his cool fingers press against my chin, however, catching the transparent drop of liquid before it crashed to the floor. His grip on my wrist had changed; it seemed more like he was hanging on to me than keeping me captive. I heard him take a step forward, looking at me darkly as I opened my eyes again. "Dobe."

It was all it took. Waves of panic that should have washed over me an hour ago finally spread inside my mind, and I welcomed the teme's arms as the safest sanctuary I could hope to find. Here, at least, I was safe. Soft fingers pulled my chin up, and it didn't take me long to figure what the teme wanted. I didn't need to think, and hardly did as his lips crashed against mine.

His tongue tore through the entrance of my mouth, exploring its interior as though to make sure nothing had changed. Somewhere in my mind, part of me realized Sasuke was shaking.

Almost reflexively I pulled him against me, and as our bodies pressed against each other, something inside me snapped. I clutched him desperately, breaking our kiss in order to attack his neck, seeking bare skin. I needed him. I _needed- _

He followed my initiative, slipping his hands under my shirt, reaching up to press against my thundering heart.

And then my body gave in. My ears roared, and exhaustion washed over me, causing my legs to buckle. Strong arms caught me but they weren't enough to hold me away from oblivion. The last thing I heard was a panicked articulation of my name, and then everything went black.

* * *

I woke up in a comfortable bed, which I soon recognized as the one I had been sharing with the teme -the pervert manager had decided to save money by grouping all the models into their usual pairs and have them share a room. Most had two beds. Ours did not.

"Dobe." The comment came from the end of the mattress. I glanced up, and saw the teme wasn't even looking at me. His eyes were focused on his hands, which in turn were busy massaging my stiff legs.

"You don't need to do that," I mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

Sasuke snorted. "If I don't, you won't be in any state to walk tomorrow," he remarked dryly. "Or do I need to remind you how you get cramps?" I didn't answer, and he sighed. "I'm sure the coach would have gotten a heart attack if he had seen you run back there," he remarked.

I winced. Knowing how Coach Gai was, the teme was probably right. "You saw me?" I asked timidly.

"No," he snapped. "But the results are right under my nose. You _fainted_, you idiot. Didn't anyone tell you not to run under the rain? And spare energy? You barely ran an hour, dobe, how do you explain the fact you've been out for three hours?"

"The stairs," I said quietly. "I didn't-" And closed my mouth as he handed me a warning glare. I really needed to watch my mouth from now on. Angrily, the teme looked down again, and didn't add a word.

"You knew where I'd go," was my next remark.

His hands slowed. "You wanted to go there," he replied. "And it was the only place you'd find easily, given you can see the tower from a distance if you need."

It was a logical answer. I remained thoughtful, but hesitant to voice my thoughts. "What happened?" I finally asked.

This time, his eyes darkened. "In the gardens?" I nodded again, and he sighed. "It was a complete fiasco." Wordlessly, I waited for him to explain. "I was waiting for you on the opposite staircase," he admitted. "But you darted off back to where we'd been before, and I thought you sense of direction had gone haywire-"

"Teme! I thought I had seen you!"

"Well you obviously didn't," he grumbled. "I followed you, and didn't hurry, since to me it was clear you'd come back once you realized your mistake."

"I did! But there were these tourists..."

"I suppose they blocked you as well," he supplied. I confirmed with a nod. "And my guess is that you took the staircase located on your right." Another nod. "So did I."

"You mean...Your right? My left?"

Grimly, he nodded. "When I didn't see you I thought you had gone back to the metro station. And once I saw you weren't there, I went back to the gardens, but you were definitely gone by then." He shook his head angrily.

I startled the two of us by laughing. Wiping my eyes, I grinned at the teme. "That was a fiasco alright," I told him. He didn't answer, and I became serious again. "Did I scare you?"

"You were under my responsibility," he replied curtly. "I had no right to let you wander off on your own. This should never have happened."

"This isn't only your fault," I protested. "I should've-" His hand suddenly snaked up to cover my mouth, and he stared at me gravely.

"I don't want to hear it. I thought I had the situation under control and decided I could scare you a little. I completely misjudged your reaction, and had you cross Paris and faint on the finish line because of it. Don't blame anyone else but me."

Well, that was quite an apology. Especially from the teme. I stared at him for several seconds, seriously doubting my ears were functioning correctly. But when Sasuke looked away, I realized just how guilty he was feeling.

Lifting my right leg, I hooked him at the waist, and pulled him towards me. Ignoring the suggestive position, I caught his chin and forced him to meet my eyes. "You found me, teme," I stated, my voice dead serious. "You found me and that's all that matters."

He didn't answer, and I pulled him in a tight hug. A friendly gesture. Right now, he needed to know he hadn't lost that.

* * *

**So, I guess we can almost (amost) kiss Naru's denial goodbye...Sigh. I have to warn you, the last chapter will take some time to type (since I'll be doing it from scratch), so please be patient.**

**Also, if you're interested in reading other fics from me, please PM me or review or whatever to tell me what you like (genres, secondary couples and such...) to see which of my plot bunnies I should take out of my brain first. Don't worry, onee-chan, I haven't forgotten my obligatory-smut-epilogue for Welcome to my World, it's on top of the list.**

**Reviews are, as usual, very much appreciated.  
**


	9. Like two angels

**Sorry, sorry, I'm late, and I should be later (I'm delaying homework for you guys, so be thankful). Good news is, this isn't the last chapter (I cut it in two again, and this is still long), so please enjoy, review, have fun and forgive me for updating so late...**

**Discalimer: Ya, me not own Naruto.**

**Thanks to my wonderful beta, Run-for-the-skies, to whom this chapter is dedicated (surprise!). Thought some the themes explored below were adapted to her pename.**

**ATTENTION PEOPLE: There are two French sentences in this chapter (you'll see the first one quickly ^^ ). Translations are as follows:**

**"Lean down a little more...Peeerfect. Excellent, don't move..."**

**The second one's very close to the title, and the teme should translate part anyways. If you're still curious and too lazy to google it, ask.**

**Enjoy.**

**

* * *

**

**Like Two Angels**

"Penchez-vous un tout petit peu plus…Paaarfait. Excellent, on ne bouge plus…" It was weird to follow instructions given to us in French. Technically I had no clue of what the guy was precisely asking us, but his mimics, as well as the translating teme behind me made it possible to communicate.

I was gently pressed against the balcony, and looked ahead in the distance as the cameras went off. The cathedral of Notre Dame was within view, so there was something both the teme and I could gaze at without any risk of confusion.

"They seem so togezer," the photographer told the pervert manager in an exited voice. "Itz wonderfool to see zem so dedicated at sush a young age."

"You flatter me," Kakashi replied with his usual invisible smile. "They're the jewels of my little collection. And although I had been prizing the Uchiha for months, Uzumaki popped out from nowhere into my office. I assure you I got lucky."

"Modest, eh? It's true I 'adn't 'eard of Naruto before you presented him to me, and I'm very glad you did" –he smiled at me- "and I'm so glad you've brought zem 'ere. Zey are going to ze _soirée_, aren't zey?"

"Of course." The pervert smirked. "I've gone through too much trouble bringing them over to Europe to deny them the eyes of fame." He gave us a dangerous look, and I felt my body tense. Behind me, Sasuke's arm slid around my waist, fingers rubbing softly against the side of my chest.

"I won't leave you dobe," he assured me. "I can keep an eye on you for one evening."

Not that I had left his sight since the previous weekend. He even accompanied me to the bathroom –though I was allowed to relieve myself in private- and stuck to me like a three-dimensional shadow everywhere I went. It was weird, but also reassuring. Getting lost in Paris once was more than I considered enough.

Leaning back against him, I twisted my neck so that my lips brushed against his ear, and whispered, "I know." It was quiet enough to keep the adults from hearing. Also, the proximity was sure to make his ears buzz –which was confirmed by his discreet shiver- and there was no way he could have missed the mischief in my voice.

I had teased Sasuke ever since his 'fiasco', silently enjoying the fact that for once he didn't strike back with some of his own comments. I knew he felt guilty, and I knew I was being far from nice, but heck, a guy has to take revenge when it's handed to him on a silver plate. I still hadn't forgotten the fact that the only reason I was here was because he'd enrolled me against my will. And making fun of him was good, once in a while.

.

Damn, that guy was fast. I hadn't even seen him pull his camera up to his face, and already he was moving to the side, trying to get a better angle. Sighing, and feeling slightly tired, I pressed my eyes against the teme's neck, gripping his arms in order to balance myself. He held me with cradling arms, resting the side of his head against mine. Since he'd decided to be the leader, he didn't get to close his eyes. Ha.

"Comme deux anges descendus du ciel…" The photographer's voice was distant. Dreamy. I guessed he'd reached his personal nirvana, especially when I felt the teme smirk.

I turned my head sideways to look up at him. "What'd he say?" I asked tiredly.

"That you looked like an angel," Sasuke said, his soft voice amused. I blushed, and buried my face back into his neck. Even when he was guilty he couldn't stop teasing.

"Incorrect, young man," Kakashi suddenly said. "Don't abuse of your fluency in French to fool our blond; he might learn someday." Sasuke shrugged, and I half-mumbled, half-growled, ordering him to quit moving. Sighing, he tightened his hold on me once more and stilled.

* * *

Sasuke hadn't given up on my initiation to French food. This week, however, he'd focused only on cheese (which was what he'd bought at the supermarket), and made me learn the first basic, most important lesson you had to follow to eat the stuff. Close your eyes, pinch your nose, and everything would be fine.

He'd managed to prove me that the harder a cheese smelled, the better it was. I had been highly dubious about his theory –seriously, was there any logic to it?- , but he did get his point across when he introduced me to something called _epoisse_.

Its aspect, for once, wasn't at all intimidating. No mold, no gray-blue spots of any kind. It was placed inside a round wooden box covered in plastic wrap, its creamy orange crust actually inviting. Out of all the cheeses the teme had shown me until now, it was probably the least scary.

He kept the box away as he opened it, telling me to breathe through my mouth only. I obeyed, and he then placed the cheese right beneath my nose. "Smell," he ordered.

I believe my reaction met his standards; barely had my nose sniffed the air below that my panicked brain called for an immediate retreat. I threw my head back, scrambling away in panic. "That thing smells worse than the locker rooms right after training!" I yelled, knowing my declaration wasn't even close to describing the truth. "What the hell is in there?" I had never come across such an aggressive smell. My nostrils burned, and I glared at the teme as he dipped a knife into the creamy substance and spread it over a piece of bread.

"Be quiet, dobe, I told you some of them smelled strong." Despite the scolding voice, the bastard didn't even try to hide his amusement. He handed me the toast, but I shook my head.

"There's no way that's going down my throat," I said firmly.

"Don't be an idiot," he sighed. "Your belly doesn't have a nose. It can handle it." To prove it, he bit of a chunk, chewed, and swallowed. "Just don't forget to brush your teeth when you're done."

I eyed him suspiciously. There had got to be some kind of trick. Maybe he hadn't taken any cheese into his mouth, or maybe he'd developed some kind of stomach acid over the years that would fight off the stench –I wondered if French people had it through genetics- or maybe-

"Dobe." Sasuke was getting impatient. "Just taste it. Did I ever try to poison you before?"

I thought about that. "There was this one time when I put ketchup in your shoes, you put roots from I don't know what plant to-"

He waved it off dismissively. "You were asking for that one. It doesn't count."

"You bet it does! My throat was aching for two straight days after I ate it!"

"Dobe." He gave me a tired look. "Just eat it."

I glanced at him. Sasuke hadn't had any nightmares since that memorable night, but I had noticed increasing shadows underneath his eyes in the last few days. I took the piece of bread, careful not to let its smell get past my nostrils, and bit down. It was good. As improbable as it seemed, that horridly foul, nose-attack giving cheese tasted great. I ate the entire thing, then beckoned the teme for another. He smirked, and quickly obliged.

"Are you sleeping well?" I asked while my mouth was unoccupied.

Sasuke shrugged. "I've seen worse," he replied carelessly, handing me the second loaf.

I nodded and bit in again, still careful with my nose. The problem was I had to breathe at some point, so I chewed quickly and swallowed. "You look tired."

"I know." To my surprised look, he added, "Kakashi already commented on it."

"And what did you tell him?"

He shrugged again. "That the street noises were keeping me awake."

I eyed him closely. He didn't meet my gaze, and then I understood. "Idiot."

He didn't respond, and I dropped the loaf angrily, getting to my feet.

"Will you stop looming over everything you did wrong for a moment and get over it?" I glared at him, my anger climbing rapidly as he persisted in looking away.

"There's nothing to discuss, dobe," he grumbled, slightly annoyed. "Sit down."

I shook my head stubbornly. "I don't get why you have to think about what happened every minute of the night! Why do you need to go back on times neither of us are proud about? Would you appreciate it if I did the same?" This time he looked up, and gave me a puzzled look. "Sai," I reminded him with a growl. "You think I've forgiven myself? I made you hallucinate in your own house, for Pete's sake! I scared your brother shitless and made you sicker than you've ever been! But I don't spend the entire day thinking about it, because I know you don't like it when I'm not my bright, annoying, usual self!" Angrily, I grabbed his shoulders. "I want the usual you, teme, I don't give a damn if you screwed up. I don't like it when you're like this." My voice softened. "It's like there's half of you missing."

He gave me an odd look. Then his arm rose slowly, and he caught my shoulders, pulling me down. I kneeled, waiting for his wordless instructions. His fingers slipped away from my arms, going to my neck, and cupping my face. His eyes were as dark as ever, but something was missing. As though their light had been shut off. He pressed his forehead against mine, and, probably guessing how much his coal irises revealed, lowered his eyelids.

"I'm sorry."

The words hit me like a bomb. Never, not in the seven years I had known Sasuke, had I heard those words come out of his mouth. Uchihas didn't make mistakes. When they did, they cleaned up, one way or the other. He'd never felt the need to apologize to anyone, for anything he'd done. And yet here he was, asking me for forgiveness I didn't think he needed. For several seconds, I remained speechless.

"Why is it so important?" I finally asked. "Do you think I won't trust you after this?"

He tensed slightly, then forced himself to relax. "You shouldn't," he stated blankly.

"You're right." Again, he stiffened. "I'm not following you back to that damn Senate again, ever." I made sure to keep my voice amused. "But you're guilty enough to at least be more careful next time you try to trick me." His eyes snapped open, but I cut him before he could protest. "You are going to do it again, teme, though hopefully with a little bit more planning out," I informed him. "Although I most certainly will call you all kinds of names once I find you, it's not you stupid little games that are going to break my trust in you, teme."

I could see it. The light, shinning feebly from the obsidian depths, but growing, even as I watched. "My stupid games?" he repeated. "Let's talk about yours, shall we?" he pushed me back, flattening me against the floor. "Who thought it funny to draw pink hearts all over my notebooks on Valentine's day, with Sakura's and Ino's signatures on the bottom?"

I struggled, though more out of duty than anything else. "What makes you say it was me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Something quite simple, dobe; your handwriting _is_ fairly easy to recognize."

I ignored that. "It happened ages ago," I muttered.

"Last February," he reminded me. "We're in March, in case you've forgotten." I didn't answer, and he continued, "Maybe you want me to talk about more recent things, then. Who crept up on me while I was trying to reason my brother out of this contract, and made me chase him across the entire school in order to get my cellphone back?" His head lowered, approaching mine. "Who decided to make us split personalities in order to deal with all the stress? Who's been fucking _teasing_ me-"

"You teased me too!" I protested furiously. There was a pause, and our eyes widened simultaneously as we realized how the conversation had edged off. Before I could even blush though, the door opened, revealing our perverted manager.

"Gentlemen," he greeted us as though the teme wasn't straddling my hips. If you thought about it, this was far from being the most suggestive position he'd seen us take. "Your evening attires are ready. Go clean yourselves thoroughly, and come down as soon as you're dry." He smiled sweetly. "And you might want to reserve this kind of thing for after the party."

A hand over my mouth kept me from voicing my furious answer, and the teme got off me as Kakashi closed the door again. "Don't forget to brush your teeth," he reminded me.

I blinked, feeling insulted. Then remembered the cheese. Right. I was going to wash my mouth twice before showering and twice after to make sure I got the smell out completely.

* * *

It was nothing to say that we'd been dressed to contrast. The fact was so blatantly obvious –especially since I stayed close to the teme- that people barely felt the need to ask if we worked together.

Sasuke was dressed completely in black. He had no tie, and his shirt was casually unbuttoned at the top, revealing the paleness of his throat. He wore no jewelry, and didn't need to. His effortless grace and beautiful figure caught most eyes as soon as he stepped into the ballroom –because there was no other way you could call the huge open space we'd just entered- which in turn caused gazes to fall upon me.

My white suit was unique among the mass; no one had dared challenge Murphy's law so clearly, and I eyed the buffet with a cautious eye. I wore a light blue shirt, equally unbuttoned and tieless, with just as little jewelry as the teme; Kakashi a nearly torn off my watch, telling us we needed to look "raw, for all those virgin eyes that want to see you".

And see they did. We followed our manager to the center of the room, to a couple Sasuke told me owned the place. People stared at us, shamelessly taking in every single detail. I nearly tripped, and the teme caught my hand. "This won't be any harder than before," he whispered. "I'm not leaving you."

"You'd better not," I mumbled, quickly reviewing what I had been taught. Handshakes for guys, and the _bise_ for ladies. I waited as Kakashi introduced us to our hosts, and walked forward as soon as I saw the teme nod.

The woman was the first to greet me. "Welcome to France," she said, in a far better English than I would have expected. Though there was a distinct British accent to it. "I do hope you are enjoying your stay so far."

I nodded swiftly. "It's very new," I admitted. "The food's great." This drew several chuckles from the onlookers, and I heard the teme sigh softly. Well, it couldn't hurt to be honest, could it?

"I'm glad you like it." She smiled, and let me turn towards her husband, with whom I swiftly shook hands.

"And here's the young Uchiha," the woman continued, kissing the teme on both cheeks. "Do tell your brother I send my regards. It's wonderful to finally see you."

"I'll be sure to pass the message," Sasuke replied. "He'll be honored to know you remembered him."

" 'oo doesn't remember Itachi Uchiwa?" I frowned slightly at the mispronunciation, but Sasuke made no comment to the husband. "'e's stiking, zat young man. Quite striking indeed."

Such true words. The guy was right, to say the least. You just didn't forget Sasuke's sibling after coming across him. I still had nightmares from our first encounter.

We were politely excused, and conversations resumed. Sasuke led me across the room, seizing to glasses of Champaign as soon as he found the opportunity, and handed me one.

"We're seventeen, teme," I protested. "We're not allowed to-"

"The age limit's eighteen in France," he reminded me. "And it's not my fault I'm born in July. It's soft, anyways. There's no way you can get drunk with this." He smirked and sipped. "Try to make it last an hour."

Before I could figure out how I was supposed to do that, the first of the many people that wanted to talk to us came to make the usual greetings, and I soon lost track of what was happening around me. People –teme included- spoke either French or English, sometimes both, switching from one language to the other in mid-sentence or as the conversation edged on. Others spoke French while the teme responded in his native tongue, and despite this they all seemed to make perfect sense out of each other.

Most subjects seemed to turn around Sasuke's modeling future, and from tones of voices, as well as the numerous smiles I received, there was little doubt I was also expected to work. I smiled politely and thanked them, and Sasuke's smirk did not falter during the entire evening. "Itachi's going to be thrilled," he eventually remarked. "He already must be on the phone with some of them." Slightly more serious, he added, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

I nodded, grinning. "I just got an opportunity to annoy and pester you no matter where you go, and you're asking me whether I'd rather wait in Konoha? No way! You've always been traveling to cool places, leaving me to deal with you fanclub, and this is the chance I get to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't-" I stopped brusquely. Then reddened.

Sadly, the teme didn't miss what I had been about to say. "Make sure I don't cheat, dobe?" he asked, smirking. "Are you sure Kit's not in there?" He tapped my head lightly.

I shrugged, still blushing. Truth to be said, I was incapable of answering the teme. If Kit really was here, I couldn't feel him at all.

Sasuke sighed, then resumed the previous conversation. "That British lady," he remarked, pointing to the no-nonsense woman that had just offered us to work for her this summer. "She's the head of a popular female magazine. You'll also be viewed by women, from now on."

"I thought that was already the case," I replied, surprised.

He arched an eyebrow.

"Ino and Sakura told me they'd seen our pictures," I recalled. "And Hinata had shown them to Kiba, so she got them from somewhere."

"Really?" he sounded amused. "I doubt my brother is completely innocent on that matter."

"He's guilty as hell," I grumbled. "I say we hang him by his toes as soon as we get back." I hadn't realized. Itachi was just as perverted as our manager.

Three hours later, we still hadn't discussed with everyone, but Kakashi told us we could leave if we wanted. It had become increasingly difficult not to yawn, and I was grateful for the early dismissal.

* * *

The sounds of our footsteps on the marble floor were being indecently loud. Rubbing my head, I elbowed the teme playfully. "There's no way I'd get drunk, right?" I asked in a teasing voice.

"I didn't think they'd open the wine bottles this fast," he admitted. "But you're the one who decided to taste everything people proposed you."

"They were nicier than you. Nicer," I corrected myself. "I'm still not eating that epoiiisse thingy thing."

He sighed. "You didn't drink that much, dobe. Stop making a fool of yourself." He pointed at my feet. "You're still walking straight."

Adequately I stumbled, and he caught me with another sigh. "I like acting drunk," I told him in a slow, happy voice. "And you can't say I'm entirely normal either."

"A bit too cheerful on the way back," he admitted. "But that's not drunk."

I paced like a five-year old in front of our door as Sasuke took out his keys, and pushed him inside as soon as he'd unlocked the wooden frame. "Temeeee," I said, gripping his suit tightly. "Why aren't you drunk?"

"Stop it," he replied, annoyed. "I don't want to sleep with a clown. Let go of me, dobe."

With a small humph I obeyed, and promptly began undressing in the middle of the room. Thankfully I remembered modesty just in time to keep my hands from tugging my boxers off. Glancing at the teme, I noticed that he had vanished.

Panic rose a lot faster when you weren't thinking straight. "Sasuke?" I cried, alarmed. "Teme, where are you?" I went to the closest door –the bathroom's-, and pulled the door open.

And shut up immediately. Sasuke was inside, partly undressed. His shirt was halfway pulled over his head, and something looked stuck. "Teme?" I asked, surprised.

An exasperated growl reached my ears, and I laughed, realizing what the problem was. His midnight hair had gotten caught in one of the buttons, and he couldn't see anything.

"Don't move," I ordered as I approached, reaching for the coal black bangs. He obeyed, waiting until I had removed his shirt completely to thank me in a gruff manner. "It wouldn't hurt to be fully grateful, teme," I remarked playfully.

He didn't answer, wordlessly gazing at my newly exposed body. Ignoring the stare, I dropped the shirt and attacked his pants. This time I got a reaction. "What are you doing?" he asked, his voice dry.

"Making us even," I replied carelessly. "There's no reason I have to be in boxers and you don't." I pulled the pants down and he sighed, stepping out of them obediently. Satisfied, I looked up at him. "Teme, I want a massage."

By now, he wasn't surprised by anything I asked. He followed me back to the bed without a word, and let me lie down before installing himself on my lower back.

His hands were warm. Probably aware of what I wanted, he repeated what he'd done at the beginning of our second week. The light kisses and teasing fingers caused me to shiver and arch slightly under his touch, and I could feel him smirk as his hands pressed against my bare skin, gradually relaxing my muscles.

On my body's personal initiative, I suddenly shifted underneath him, and, as soon as he had removed his weight from my back, flipped around. He frowned, and didn't sit back down. Impatiently, I reached up, grabbed his torso and pulled him down.

He put his hands on either side of my face to keep himself from crashing onto me, and called, his voice slightly uncertain, "Kit?"

I kissed his chest, and didn't answer. He remained still, and I gripped him harder, clutching his shoulders in order to prevent him from going away. My behavior caused him to chuckle, and he leaned down, kissing my collarbone. "I'm not leaving you, dobe."

I relaxed slightly, and he began exploring my neck with his mouth, making me moan. The sound brought him to an abrupt halt, and he rose a few inches to stare at me. I gazed back, unbothered by my behavior.

"I love you."

Had I said that? My mouth was seriously becoming independent. Okay, so maybe my brain was taking so much time to voice intelligible thoughts; I still appreciated being warned before I made these kinds of declarations. And yet despite this, deep inside my mind –the clouded part that could still think a little- something told me taking it back wasn't an option.

Sasuke remained perfectly still as he inspected my eyes, in search of truth. But when I reached for him, he lowered his face to meet my hand, silently accepting the gesture.

"And I mean it." I knew I wasn't lying. But my words still surprised the two of us. This time, however, the teme snapped. He dropped down, arms snaking around my chest, and glued his chest to mine. I shivered repeatedly at the contact, and wrapped my own arms around his body. The same need that had overpowered me in the Tower suddenly rushed back, even stronger than before.

"Teme," I breathed out. "I want-" My sentence was stopped by one of the softest kisses Sasuke had ever given me. Pulling back, he caressed my cheek, his fingers gentle.

"You know what you want?" he asked.

I nodded. "You," I said, my voice trembling. "I want you." I was crying, I realized. The real question was why. Was I afraid? Afraid of what? Abandon?

He straightened, forcing me to sit, and kissed my forehead. "I'm here dobe," he said softly. "I'm here and I'm not leaving you." His lips spread into a small smirk. "But if you want to have fun, you better cheer up a little." His finger caught my chin, pulling up as I wiped my eyes. "What do you think?"

He shouldn't have said that. Definitely not. My mood changed brusquely, going from desperate and needful to mischievous in the blink of an eye. And there was no way the wine wasn't innocent on the matter. I pushed him back, forcing him to lie down, and attacked his neck. He mumbled something I didn't get, tucking his head sideways in order to give me better access to his skin. I ran my lips against his throat, reaching for the back of his ear, and licking the soft spot situated behind his earlobe. The quiet moan I got in answer told me the gesture was appreciated.

Nibbling the ear thoughtfully, I then lowered my head to his chest, edging to one of his nipples. The teme suddenly looked up.

"Naru-" he swore as I sucked the hardening skin, gripping the back of my head and digging his fingers into my scalp. I smirked, mercilessly playing with bud, glad to feel his small jolts every time I sucked to his liking.

Pulling back, I smiled, careful to breathe over his humid skin. He shivered, but caressed my head wordlessly with his fingers. "I knew you hadn't been acting the last time I did that," I informed him triumphantly. "You can't keep your little secrets from me anymore, teme."

"I won't even try to deny that." He pressed me against his chest again, then brought us both to the edge of the bed. "Lights off," he ordered. "Hurry up."

"You come with me," I replied, pulling his hand as I got to my feet. He sighed and followed, trapping me in his arms when we reached the bathroom, and kissing me as I blindly reached back for the light switch. There. One off, one to go. The bedroom's switch wasn't even out of reach. But the bastard was making it increasingly difficult to concentrate. "Teme- stop…Just a minute-" I gasped softly as he turned me around, pressing his burning chest against my back. One thing was sure; he was ready for fun. I smirked to myself, and leaned forward, careful not to lose contact with his hips. The lights went out.

"Think we can make it to the bed?" I asked.

He buried his face into my shoulder. "Not sure. Not if you keep-" he swore again, this time due to the fact that I had fled his embrace. He hurried after me to the bed, tackling me just before I reached the mattress and slamming me on its side. I let out a muffled cry, laughed, and twisted out of his grip, feeling his hands run all over my body in attempt to seize something that would prevent me from moving. The hem of my boxers was his first choice.

"You think _that_'s going to keep me?" I laughed again, and leaped onto the mattress, feeling the fabric slip off my hips as I crawled away from the teme. But I froze as soon as I felt him hop on the bed. He came over on all fours, looming over me as his knees settled on either side of my waist, hands pinning my shoulders down. His breathing was a little harsher than before, and he licked my ear, none too gently.

"See what I meant about teasing?" he growled. "That. You have to stop that if you want me to stay sane."

I let out a chuckle. "You know I wouldn't do anything I didn't think you could handle," I assured him. "But that's my judgment isn't it?" I sighed softly as he let go of my upper body, sat down and resumed stroking my back. "It comes back to trust, right?" I asked, somewhat drowsily. "You're afraid I won't trust you anymore and you think can't trust me and you know what I think about both and-"

"You realize you're hardly making any sense?" the teme asked, smirking. "Don't fall asleep just yet."

"You think I'd fall asleep with you sitting on my naked ass?" I shook my head, rubbing my nose into the covers. "Just waiting for you to go a little lower." Miraculously, his hands followed my will. I tried again. "Lower…" I sighed as he moved down even more- "Lower…" –reaching the bottom of my waist, sliding even lower, against the sensitive skin, and slowly diving between my parted legs. I moaned softly, raising my hips as he reached for- "Oh God."

"Please try not to voice the name of any deity while we're doing this kind of thing," that asshole of a bastard told me with a small chuckle, griping my member fully as he spoke. "Or I'm going to have to remind you the status of homosexual intercourse in religion."

"Shut up," I growled. "Don't use complicated words when I'm-" I bit my lip to hold back any profanity my mouth might utter, but was unable to withhold a gasp. Damn, his mouth was on me. Pressing right against the tip of my aching erection. How in the world had it gotten there? How could I have flipped over without realizing it? How the fucking hell was I supposed to keep my mouth shut when he was driving me through torrents of bliss?

"Teme!" I arched up as his mouth engulfed me, delicious humid heat becoming the sole sensation of my existence. This was better than anything I'd ever done before. My back strained, but I couldn't get enough. His tongue danced, everywhere around me. It was torture. It was bliss. It was…Fuck, hell, it was gone.

"You-" The teme silenced me with a kiss, correctly assuming he'd need to react in a minimal amount of time once his mouth had left my member. I raped his mouth angrily, feeling my growing frustration and want, and he pushed me back, towards the head of the bed, letting his boxers slide off his waist as he did so. His erection brushed against mine, and I lifted my hips forcefully, keen on renewing friction. Sasuke's breath came out a bit more harshly than intended.

Suddenly I felt my head bump against a small, hard object, and blindly reached for it as the teme attacked my neck. It was a bottle. In the darkness, I couldn't read what was written on it, and doubted it was in English anyways. Seeing I was distracted, the teme looked up, and reached for the object.

He inspected it for two seconds before snorting. "You're going to kill Hatake," he informed me.

"What is it?"

"Lube."

Immediately I straightened, forcing him off me, and took the bottle back. "Seriously?" He nodded, and I opened the cap, sniffing the substance curiously. "Oranges," I said, feeling slightly surprised. "That pervert thought I was going to-" I looked up at the teme, suddenly meek. "I'm bottom?" I asked.

Sasuke smirked back. "Lucky guess?" he teased, extending his hand. "Hand it over dobe. Unless you want to do it yourself."

I was fairly certain my eyes glinted when he spoke. "You bet."

He remained perfectly still, though despite the darkness I could still see his eyes had widened. Heh. Hadn't been expecting that. Though now it meant I had to take action.

Tipping the bottle of lube, I spread its contents upon my fingers before getting to my knees. I waited for the cool liquid to warm a little, then slowly reached down, past my aching member, past my testes, all the way down to the small opening I knew was there.

"Naruto…" Well, it looked like I had rendered the teme nearly speechless. I spread the lube over my entrance generously, pausing as I placed the tip of my fingers against the opening. I looked up at Sasuke. His mouth was slightly parted, his eyes wider than usual. And he was undeniably aroused.

I pushed the digit in, gently, forcing my muscles to relax. The feeling was strange, but in the state that I was, there was no way I could call it painful. I went deeper, coating the inside with lubricant, and suddenly gasped when I touched something that sent a jolt through my entire body.

A hand covered mine. Slipping his fingers between my lubed ones, Sasuke gently inserted one of his own digits inside the tight opening, caressing the first trespasser with barely restrained lust. I moaned into his ear, and he growled back.

"Damn tease."

Both our fingers kept me from laughing normally. I pulled out and slid in again, feeling the teme do the same. He was careful not to follow my pace however, and the mixed feelings produced by the two fingers were almost enough to drive me over the edge. Pulling out completely, I reached for his member and stroked it with my lubed hand, desperate to increase this already maddening sensation.

Sasuke drew a sharp breath, and his hand left my lower body as he pushed me back against the mattress, forcing my legs apart. I complied without any resistance, lifting my hips as soon as I felt his member press against my entrance. For a moment he remained still, hesitant, and I met his eyes squarly, silently ordering him to move.

He inched in, slowly. I let out a small gasp, and, almost reflexively, he leaned down to cover my lips with his, soothing tongue poking out while he pushed even deeper into my body.

I arched again, moaning inside his mouth. At this point, I was way too aroused to feel any pain, and he slid in with ease, stopping once he was completely sheathed. His tongue ran over mine, worried, wordlessly inquiring if I was alright. I responded by raping his mouth all over again, attacking his teeth, his throat, his tongue as well, exploring every inch of the warm cavern with meticulous dedication, and bucked my hips to tell him he could move.

My second gasp was loud. He'd pulled all the way back and thrust back in, instantly hitting that same spot that had me jolting before. This time I actually saw stars. He must have felt me tense, because he broke the kiss and asked, "Dobe?"

Pushing back the need to tell him he had every right to feel guilty after shoving his member so forcefully into my ass, I kissed him, shaking slightly, and whispered, "I'm fine." I kissed his jaw line to prove my point, nibbling the skin. "Do it again," I ordered. "More slowly this time, or I'll be finished before we even start." I pulled back as far as the mattress would allow me, and thrust myself back onto his member, feeling his grip tighten brusquely around my shoulders.

"You'll be the end of me, dobe."

It was the last thing I heard before I was sent straight up towards nirvana. Ever heard how raw pleasure feels like? When your spine's on fire, all of your bones are molten lava and each and every nerve of your body is nothing more than an electrical wreck? I couldn't tell where I was, who I was, couldn't control my body. All I knew of was bliss, pure bliss that flooded me every time Sasuke thrust into me, kissed me, loved me. It was perfect. Just perfect.

We hit orgasm in near unison, neither of us fully capable of articulating the other's name as we came, clutching at each other in a somewhat desperate manner. I saw white for a couple of seconds, then my erratic heartbeat told me I had come back down to earth.

Panting, I remained still as Sasuke pulled out, and dropped down next to me, breathing nearly as hard as I was. I let out a low groan, and wiped away the beads of sweat forming upon my face. Now I was glad French nights were cool. Forcing myself to my feet, I wobbled to the window and opened it, barely noticing the sudden increase of noise. Fresh air hit me and I sighed, glad to feel my body cool down a bit. Turning, I saw the teme remove some of the sheets from our bed, and look into a closet for new ones.

"I thought you got those from the cleaning lady," I mumbled tiredly as he pulled them out.

He shrugged. "If the pervert thought about lube, he thought about the rest," he replied. "You should go wash."

I shook my head. "Too tired," I told him, yawning. "I'll do it tomorrow. Or you should do it."

Closing the window, I went back to the bed, falling limply onto the mattress as soon as he was done putting everything into place. I didn't move when he sighed, or left, or came back with a warm, wet towel and proceeded in removing sweat and seed from my body. Done, he headed back to the bathroom, and I fell asleep before he returned.

* * *

**Can anyone guess I love teasing? Oooh, I'm evil. Nah, I've been working on other lemon scenes for other fics (you'll see them if you stay in touch ^^ ), and thruth to say, it's simply not as fun if you take basic seventeen year olds and write about their first time. I prefer experienced characters...**

**So, consider yourselves lucky (there wasn't supposed to be a lemon scene at first, but I realized it after I put an M rating and didn't want to decieve my dear readers (now that would've been mean ^^ ), so I decided I could make an effort).**

**Review, tell me if you liked it (I would like to know), and stay tuned for the (truly) last chapter of Just an Act...**


	10. Curtain Call

**Who thought things were over? No one, I hope. Last chapter people, enjoy it while you can.**

**Yeah, finally something's happening in canon. Nevertheless, I still don't own Naruto.**

**

* * *

****Curtain call**

It was the sunlight that woke me up. Since Kakashi had known that none of us –including himself- would be in any state to work on the morning following his little party, the day had been called off. It felt nice not to hear Sasuke's alarm, for once; my head pounded vigorously, and additional noise was certainly not going to help.

I had trouble recalling exactly what had happened last night, but I knew there was a perfectly logical reason as to why my body ached so much. Especially my head, and another part I didn't want to think about just yet.

I groaned, and turned to my side, only to find the other half of the bed empty. That woke me up. Despite the loud complaining of my muscles, I sat up, brutally. "Sasuke?"

A slight shifting caught my eye; he was sitting next to the window, his chair partly hidden by the curtains, so that I would never have spotted him lying down. He got to his feet, picking up the large cup whose vapor was visible from where I was. Without looking at me, he handed it to me and wordlessly ordered me to drink.

I obeyed, and nearly choked on the horrible taste. "Teme," I groaned, my voice weak. "What's in there?"

Still refusing to meet my eyes, he sighed. "You don't want to know," was his dry answer. "But it's effective. Drink."

I did, and soon felt my headache lessen. Memory then returned, and I suddenly understood why the teme was so uncomfortable. My cheeks flushed as far they would go, and Sasuke brutally turned away, exiting the room before I could think to call him back.

I stared at the door, dumbfounded. Part of me didn't understand what Sasuke's problem was. Another part was wondering how I was personally supposed to react to the entire situation. My brain worked furiously for several seconds, and finally decided a shower was the best way to get all my thoughts in order.

*

Water washed over me like an invisible coat, and I leaned against the cold walls, thinking. I had been drunk. A little. This didn't excuse my attitude completely, although it did explain how things had been so fast. On the other hand, the teme had seemed mostly sober. I couldn't remember how much he'd drank, or how much alcohol truly affected him, but I was ready to bet it was hormones, not wine, that had shut down his reasonable self. Despite this, his lack of restraint did surprise me.

* * *

I chased the teme during the entire day. All pointless. He had probably fled the hotel and hidden in Paris, and if that was the case, I had no hope of finding him. Instead, I occupied myself by virtually murdering our perverted manager –this was his entire fault after all, though he refused to admit it- and trying to figure out exactly what I was going to say to Sasuke once he came back.

By seven p.m., I still had no clue of how to handle things, and the bastard hadn't returned. This in itself wasn't strange; the capital was still up and alive, and he could choose to eat outside the hotel restaurant.

I paced nervously in our room, wondering if he'd actually return. He needed to, since we still had some work left tomorrow. And if we didn't make things clear before then, things would be a lot tougher than usual.

For the fifth time in the past hour, I was overcome with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. When the hell had we stopped acting? Was it since Sakura and Ino's party? Before, when the teme had first kissed me? Or when Sai had? Had the teme been acting at all? I knew I had fused with my Kit personalities. I knew there was no more difference between Raven and the teme for me. I wouldn't be able to go back on that matter. And right now, Sasuke's absence hurt a lot more than I needed it to.

As I paced, my eyes suddenly fell on my backpack, and I remembered that Sai's painting was still inside. Picking the bag up, I retrieved the rectangular box, and observed it thoughtfully. Then glanced at the bed. Was the teme going to return? He knew I wouldn't let him sleep anywhere else if I thought he'd have nightmares again. His sick, paper-white face was still too fresh in my mind to let him dream like that again.

*

He still hadn't returned by ten. I left the box on his pillow, and went down to the front desk, asking if anyone had seen him. The answer was negative, and I resignedly headed to the restaurant.

Thanks to the lack of interest I carried for my food, I stayed long enough to see the teme walk past the doors without even glancing sideways. Immediately I got to my feet and rushed after him. I made sure to stay unnoticed as he advanced through the halls, both hands curled tightly at his sides. His posture was rigid, cold –judging from the intimidated looks he got from anyone who crossed his path- and made me cringe with doubt and worry.

To my relief, Sasuke walked straight to our room, halting in front of the door. Slowly his fists unclenched, and he raised a hand to knock. He stopped just before his knuckles hit the wood, and lowered his hand, sighing. My stomach twisted painfully as he rubbed his eyes with one hand, retrieving his keys from his pocket with the other. He hesitated, then inserted them into the lock, and entered the room.

The door shut, and I waited, hoping he hadn't just entered to take some clothes. Minutes passed, and I couldn't bring myself to move. I kept my eyes locked upon the door, praying with all my might it wouldn't open again.

"Lost your keys?" The voice behind me made me jump. I turned to face the pervert, shaking slightly. "Or are you tracking the fearsome Uchiha?" He smiled, and I resumed a furious look. "Enough beating for today," he stated, raising his arms in defense. "You and your little friend have already handed me more than your share."

"You deserved it, you pervert," I growled. Then turned back to face the door. "And quiet down. I don't want to ruin things."

He raised an eyebrow. "If you left something in there, he must've found it by now. I'd go in, before he finds a way to refuse it."

My body seemed to activate itself. In less than two seconds, I had already dashed across the hall and inserted my key into the lock. Pushing the door open, I stepped inside the room, not knowing if I was too early or too late.

Sasuke turned brutally. The paper he had been holding down with both hands rolled up, and I spotted the opened box on the table next to him. I tried to smile.

"You like it?"

He didn't answer.

"It's for you," I told him quietly. "I thought you might appreciate it." His eyes narrowed, suspicious. But he then turned, and unrolled the drawing once more, resting his coal irises on the fine traits. "Sai did it," I added, feeling the need to be completely honest. He stiffened, and I continued, "That's what we were doing that night. He said my expression was hard to draw." This time, I waited for an answer.

"Whose idea was this?" he finally asked.

"His." I felt slightly annoyed. "He only paints nude, men and women alike, with very few exceptions. He figured from our relationship you'd want one without clothes, and since I liked his other works, I said yes." Glaring at him, I took a step forward. "What I don't get is why you're so jealous of a guy I'll never fall in love with. I kissed you everywhere, I touched you, I had sex with you and gave you the drawing right after to prove everything's not over. _You_ run away as soon as I remember what happened, probably blamed everything on the fact we were both drunk and avoided me all day-"

"I wasn't drunk."

I closed my mouth, and Sasuke turned back towards me, rolling the drawing up.

"Have you seen this?" he asked, indicating Sai's work.

I shook my head.

"It's good," the teme admitted quietly, placing it inside the box. He looked at me. "I'll keep it."

For some reason, I blushed and smiled, thanking him in a soft whisper. He put the box on the table, and walked over.

"I wasn't drunk," he repeated. "But I wasn't thinking correctly either." He paused again, and then resolutely met my gaze. "I took advantage of your state. I should have waited until you were sober to ask this."

I didn't look away. "From what I recall, I was the one asking things," I replied blankly.

"You weren't being reasonable. And instead of keeping an eye on you, I" –he hesitated, and I let a small smile creep up my face- "I let my instincts drive me. This shouldn't have happened."

My smile spread. "You've been messing up awfully often these days, teme," I remarked in a teasing voice. Lifting my hand, I reached for his face. Unfaltering. "Does it make it all wrong?" I asked, knowing my face had softened. "You know we would never have done anything if we'd remembered –if I had remembered," I corrected myself, "we were supposed to be straight." I stared right into his eyes, letting him know I meant every word I spoke. "I don't regret what happened, Sasuke. I'd like us to try. Being together, I mean."

His obsidian orbs were hard to read, mainly because there were so many emotions flashing inside the coal pools. His voice was quiet. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"It never felt wrong before," I remarked, inching closer. "And it's not like anyone will be surprised."

He seemed to think about it. Then, hesitantly, he reached out, and pulled me against his chest.

His body was warm. I hugged him back, the same way I had done so many times before, and I was glad to see the gesture came as naturally as ever. Resting my head onto his shoulder, I sighed softly. "See?" I asked the teme. "Our bodies were ready for it. The only problem came from our psychological restrictions." He snorted, and I bit his neck.

"You didn't notice anything until the very end," he remarked, amused.

"No," I grumbled. "Ever heard how ignorance is bliss?" Curious, I then asked, "When did you stop pretending?"

He shrugged, and began rubbing my back. "I may have taken my role a bit too seriously," he eventually admitted. "But I think I snapped out of it after the massage I gave you."

I nodded. He'd started the 'games' right after that episode. "But…what about the first time?" I asked. "You kissed me…we hadn't even made our characters yet! Right after Sai-" he covered my mouth.

"You got what you deserved," he stated darkly. "Don't mention it."

I looked up, realizing his eyes had shadowed again. And laughed. "Jealous bastard," I sighed, resting my head back on his shoulder.

He chuckled. "The very same."

Humphing, I buried my face deeper into his neck, and kissed his collarbone, the same way I had done so many times before. Except now he was Sasuke and I was Naruto. Teme and dobe. Night and day, polar opposites who had finally found a common ground.

**Epilogue**

I stretched my legs as the teme tied his shoes, grinning in anticipation. I was slightly surprised that we hadn't done this sooner, but I had to admit, good ideas usually came late. The Seine was lighter due to the bright sky, sparkling merrily beneath us. Paris was awake and already active at 7:00 a.m. The sun was up, the path ahead clear.

Sasuke straightened, and we darted off without a word. The cool morning air slapped against my face and I laughed, feeling the teme next to me smirk. Today was our last day in Paris, and our last day of work. I knew I'd stay in contact with Kakashi, who had promised us additional contracts, and with Sai, from whom I wanted a painting of Sasuke. Things needed to stay fair after all.

News from Sakura and Ino told us people handled their relationship well, and were ready for ours. Despite this we both knew the return home would be awkward, although Kiba had called to assure me he felt perfectly fine with the situation and wishing me the best of luck with the teme. Apparently I needed it.

Right now though, all I wanted to think about was the scenery that lay before my eyes; we were approaching St Louis' island, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which I could already see. Sasuke and I had decided to run all the way to the Eiffel Tower although this time we'd climb the steps more slowly -since none of the recent events had changed the teme's attitude towards stairs-, and take one last look at the French capital before we left.

As we ran, Sasuke's hand caught mine, and our fingers locked together. It was awkward, and not exactly natural, but it felt nice to feel the teme next to me as our feet thundered across the sidewalk.

**The End**

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**It is done. Finally I can remove the chains that have locked away all my other plot bunnies...Feel pity for the little beasts. Anyone interested in another multichapter? Completely different theme this time, and I also have three oneshots I want to try...**

**Review! This fic is over, you won't get any more; I can stop writing and you can start typing, and tell me how much you liked it!**

**Thanks to all of you who have followed me through this story, I couldn't have finished without you.**

**(Reviews are still nice ^^ )**

**Adieu.**


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